


Le Rendez-Vous

by powerdragonmoon



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Football | Soccer, LadyNoir - Freeform, UEFA European Championship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-03
Updated: 2016-08-09
Packaged: 2018-07-19 11:41:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 28,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7359829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/powerdragonmoon/pseuds/powerdragonmoon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With the arrival of the UEFA European Championship to France, Ladybug and Chat Noir have been working overtime to ensure the safety of all the people of Paris.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Poland vs Portugal - First Half

**Author's Note:**

> This was going to be a one shot... but apparently I'm a glutton for punishment! 
> 
> Also please note, this is un-beta'ed and I'm favouring writing and posting, over editing at the moment, so there may be a lot of errors... my bad. I know, I know... I write a LOT of run on sentences, sorry. Also I shift between calling it soccer and football, just cause I couldn't decide which fit better... and am playing around with adding some French phrases, so hopefully it's not confusing or off-putting. 
> 
> Enjoy!

The streets of Paris sparked with energy despite the humidity, scores of diehard fans, casual spectators, and the curious uninformed, flooded towards the nearest screen available. Pubs were overflowing; the energy in the air was palpable. Within the City of Lights, nowhere was as packed with as large an audience than at the foot of the Eiffel Tower itself. There, in the gleaming shadow of La Dame de Fer, stood a large outdoor screen in the square that boosted to be a Euro 2016 “fan zone”.

Tonight the crowd was painted in red; red for Poland, red for Portugal – sprinkled and accented with bits of white and green.

Since the start of the Euro 2016 games in France, Ladybug had become acutely aware of the security risks – one of which being the hordes of emotional fans that were at risk of akumatization with the events of every football match. Your team didn’t make it past the group stage? Akuma. Your favourite player got a red card? Akuma. Your team was eliminated in penalty shots even though they scored one of the most beautiful goals of the whole tournament? Akuma. Akuma. Akuma.

It seemed that the 2016 UEFA European Championship was a most advantageous event for Hawkmoth, and it was an opportunity he was not going to squander. As such, Ladybug and Chat Noir had been worked to the bone and had quite frankly faced enough football-themed akumas to last them a lifetime.

_Red Card_ , whose akuma was hidden in a mint condition signed commemorative soccer card of his favourite player – had raged his temper-tantrum across the Champs-Élysées. Until an odd Lucky Charm in the form of a spotted hockey stick helped Ladybug and Chat Noir hook the villain by his belt and allow them the opportunity to free the akuma.

_Corner Kick_ , who like Timebreaker had an akuma hidden it their footwear, proved to live up to the name. Her kicks had knocked the air out of Ladybug before she could summon her Lucky Charm, but the sudden rage and panic that flashed in Chat Noir’s eyes, had spurred him to quickly Cataclysm Corner Kick’s left shoe. After catching her breath, Ladybug was able to purify the akuma – albeit, with a bit a limp as she defensively held her abdomen.

_Mal Call_ , a fan upset with the official rulings of a match, had been hell-bent on getting his revenge on the referee, who had in his opinion miscalled many fouls. After rescusing the poor referee from the stadium, Chat Noir was able to distract the akuma, while Ladybug secured the cursed object, which, of all things, was a vuvuzela.

And those were just the tip of the iceberg.

With the start of the knockout phase, akuma attacks had only increased along with the rise in passion and excitement underlying every match. Marinette was left exhausted and grateful for the fact that at the very least she didn’t have to worry about school with it being summer break. However, the sudden influx of tourists and soccer fans into France’s capital had caused a boost in business for Tom & Sabine’s Boulangerie Patisserie, meaning that Marinette was required most days to help out at the establishment. She had no problem with helping her parents, but the late night patrols and Hawkmoth’s spiked akuma activity left her tired in the morning rush of bakery prep.

Tom Dupain was ecstatic, the avid soccer fan had decked out the bakery in red, white, and blue, cheering for the French team with the spirit of a teenage girl at a Justin Bieber concert. Daily specials were added to the menu in celebration of the Euro Championship games. Éclairs were iced to look like the French flag, macaroons were decorated to look like little tiny soccer balls, and various other were delicately adorned with miniature team flags that Marinette had fashioned.

Almost a year before the tournament even took place; Tom had managed to secure two tickets for Marinette and himself to watch a match. Marinette and Tom had desperately hoped to get a ticket to a French game, but those were near to impossible to afford… and perhaps even more so, Marinette had wished to see a German match, but they ended up having to settle for a group match between Romania and Switzerland. It was better than nothing, and some of the most fun Marinette had had in a long while with her dad.

The match was one of the few games to not result in an akuma attack – most probably since it was a tied game and one of the first games of the tournament, everyone was just happy to be there. And so Marinette and her dad had a great time, finding themselves in a section surrounded by some very friendly Swiss fans and cheering for their neighbours.

In the aftermath of the game, Tom and Marinette had glued themselves to the screen to watch as many games and highlights as they could fit into their spare time, and when those weren’t on, they played the latest soccer video game. However, as the weeks passed and the akuma attacks continued to rise, Marinette had to find excuse after excuse to get herself out of the house and into the latest battle for Ladybug and Chat Noir to face. She had gotten into a grueling schedule of returning home in the dead of night only to catch a few hours of sleep before having to wake up to help out at the bakery.

The guilt of lying to her parents and friends still hurt, but after accepting the mantle of Ladybug, Marinette had come to understand that some sacrifices had to be made for the greater good. Tikki did her best to help console her on the worst of days. But now, as the days towards to final match lessened, Marinette – and Ladybug – found herself utterly exhausted. Tonight, clad in her polka-dotted suit, she was dead on her feet atop the Eiffel Tower.

Adrien Agreste, on the other hand, with his photo shoots, Chinese lessons, piano classes, and fencing practices, was even more so overworked regardless of the summer holiday. But even worse was that he missed school. The summer break felt eerily familiar to the days when he was being homeschooled, and he did not like the feeling. The one solace he was able to hold onto was his time at Chat Noir, when he got to be with Ladybug. But sadly this meant that with his full schedule, along with his responsibilities as Chat Noir, he had little free time to see his friends from school.

And so, on days where matches were played, Chat Noir and Ladybug had gotten into the habit of running a quick patrol of the city before settling on the apex of the Eiffel Tower, watching over the crowd, while on the lookout for any potential akuma activity.

Tonight, it proved to be a good defense, as during the pre-match commentary started, Ladybug and Chat Noir spotted a dark butterfly making its way towards the crowd. Luckily, Ladybug was able to catch it within her yo-yo before it was able to possess any innocent bystanders.

“Do you think Hawkmoth needs to recharge before sending out another akuma, my Lady?” Chat had asked as they resettled on the tower after she had purified the dark butterfly.

Ladybug frowned in thought, when it came to Hawkmoth, they were never too sure about anything, and this unnerved her to no end “I’m not sure Chat, he’s never attacked twice in one day… but that butterfly never akumatized someone, so I don’t know if what it could mean… he still may be able to send another akuma tonight. We need to stay vigilant.”

So from their perch on the top of the Eiffel Tower, the heroes watched over the citizens and visitors of Paris. It seemed unlikely that Hawkmoth would strike again, but it wasn’t an absolute certainty so Ladybug was determined to stay.

She huffed in frustration and stilled as the sounds of the team’s national anthems started up. The match would be starting soon. From where they were atop the Eiffel Tower, she could only see the back of the set up screen. During previous games it was a good way to keep her from being distracted, but tonight she was itching to see what was happening on the screen. Instead she had to settle for a clear view of the blue backing with PARIS printed largely on its center.

The summer evening was approaching dusk and the lights of the Paris were slowly waking up to sparkle the night. She looked down at the crowd and noticed that among those lights were the flashes of cameras aimed in their direction.

“Chat?” She turned to see her partner crouched beside her with his baton out. Curious, she leaned towards him to she what had grabbed his attention.

“Hmmm?” Chat answered distractedly, his thumb swiping across the screen. Ladybug leaned in further… on the screen flashed video from various security cameras around the square. He was taking surveillance of the area. Ladybug smiled, impressed with her partner’s cleverness.

Ladybug stared down at the footage as Chat continued to scroll through for any signs of odd behaviour. After a moment, Chat seemed to remember that Ladybug had said something… or had she asked him something?

Chat took a last glance at the screen before apologizing for his rude behaviour, “I’m sorry, my Lady… you were saying – AH!”

Chat had turned towards Ladybug expecting her to be seated a comfortable distance away, instead his masked face round up mere centimeters away from her dazzling blue eyes. A sudden wave of blush flamed his cheeks at their close proximity. His eyes widened in surprise. His catlike pupils contracted and he jumped ungracefully in his crouched position, causing him to clumsily fumble with his baton. It clanged loudly against the iron of the tower before his gloved hands grabbed for it.

“Oh!” Ladybug exclaimed in shock at Chat’s startled behaviour. She raised her hands up as if trying to calm a spooked animal, “Sorry!”

“N-no, no, not at all, Ladybug. I just, um…” The warm humid night was not helping his embarrassment, he was sure his face was so flush it could match his partner’s suit. “I just got dis-distracted – hahaha…” he chuckled awkwardly.

Ladybug smiled at his sudden timid and stuttering behaviour, something she was more than familiar with. She noticed the redness decorating Chat’s face and smiled at how cute he was.

_Wait, what?!?_

She quickly shock her head as if the little action could clear her head, she quickly glossed over her thoughts and thought back to what had previously grabbed her attention.

“It’s just, I noticed you looking at security footage on your baton… Good thinking! How did you get access to the security cameras?” Ladybug inquired.

Buried under the weight of embarrassment of almost flinging his baton off the side of the Eiffel Tower, Chat took some comfort in Ladybug's compliment. Usually, upon hearing such approving words, Chat would immediately bask in the glory, puff out his chest, and continue to do his best to impress his Lady. Now, having just made her audience to him jumping in fright at the mere proximity of her, he felt considerably more timid. 

“I-I can show you! You can probably do the same on your yo-yo!” Chat replied a little overeager and hoping that they could both mutually ignore his sudden gawky behaviour. He moved to sit down again beside her, before she abruptly rose to stop him.

“Wait! I forgot! I was going to say we should relocate ourselves…” She cocking her head down towards the crowd, “It seems like we’re attracting a lot of attention from up here.”

Chat nodded, looking down to the plaza at the flashing lights of cameras and upraised hands pointing up towards the tower.

“Right as usual, my Lady” Chat agreed as he swept down into a dramatic bow, “Shall we?”

Ladybug scoffed as she reached for her yo-yo. “Follow me, Kitty-kitty,” she called as she let lose her yo-yo and circled down the tower before shooting off towards the surrounding buildings. Chat could barely catch the soft echo her charming laughter as it filled the night air.

After a beat, Chat shook himself from his daze before repositioning his baton and jumping off to follow.

With his Lady leading the way, the two circled the Champs de Mars a few times to shake off the paparazzi of watching eyes. However, an outburst of cheering seemed to be a perfect diversion for the duo to escape the limelight. Ladybug still took some awareness at the sudden cheering to survey the area as she swung to and fro, until she realized the cause of the uproar was an early scored goal. She quickly settled atop the Palais de Chaillot in the Trocadéro and was quickly joined by Chat Noir.

“Wow, they wasted no time, eh? The match just started!” Chat Noir commented impressed at Poland’s quick work.

“Aw, but we missed it!” lamented Ladybug.

Chat Noir lightly patted her shoulder, “Don’t worry, my Lady. Look there’s the replay!” He pointed up to the screen, “And we have a perfect view from here. We can patrol and watch the game!”

“I dunno… we shouldn’t let ourselves be distracted” Ladybug replied guiltily.

“Hey, we’ve been overworked, and during summer vacation no less! We deserve a break right? And I’ll keep a close watch on the security cameras, k?”

“Alright” Ladybug conceded, she was tired, and she really just wanted to enjoy the game, but she couldn't completely shake the responsibility that she had to uphold. She settled herself down on the roof, sitting cross-legged, facing the large screen as it replayed Poland’s goal.

It was a quick and simple play. Poland had brought the ball up one side of the pitch, before suddenly lobbing the ball right over a defender to switch sides. This was followed by a smooth pass to Lewandowski, who was already running towards the net. Using his forward momentum the Polish captain secured an early advantage for his team, placing the ball right into the back of the net. 

The damp humid air clung every inch to Ladybug’s suit, especially after her quick loop around the Eiffel Tower. Looking at the screen she almost feel sorry for the football players running back and forth on the field. This match was taking place on the French coast in Marseille, it was sure to be a hot evening there too. But these men were wearing shorts and jerseys, whereas she was confined in a skin-tight full magic body suit. While she knew the magic did some work to keep her comfortable, it sadly did not come equipped with a fan or air conditioning feature. She turned to Chat Noir, who was standing beside her with his arms crossed, focused on the game. She wondered if he was boiling under his suit. It looked like leather and much thicker than her polka-dotted uniform.

Perhaps it was due to her vantage point, sitting beside him, but Ladybug was suddenly struck by how tall Chat Noir was. _When had this happened?_ She thought. Her eyes ran from the tops of his cat ears, all the way down to his feet where his belted tail lazily swayed back and forth. With his arms crossed, his muscles were more pronounced and defined and Marinette suddenly looked away, mouth suddenly running dry.

_Did I just check out Chat Noir!?!_ She thought horrified.  

“Well, I didn’t expect there to be a goal so soon.” Chat remarked still watching the screen, oblivious to the internal crisis Ladybug was facing beside him.

“Huh?” Her voice came out as a squeak, Chat turned to look down at her with a quirked brow as if to ask if something were wrong. She glanced up at the screen to watch the final replay of the goal, before the cameras turned back to the ongoing match. That seemed to help her get her bearings. She quickly shook her head, cleared her throat and continued, this time focusing on the game, “Hmmm, it is surprising, but Poland is good. Their captain scored 13 goals in the qualifying matches. As a team they are so in sync. Just look at how accurate their passes are, it’s like they know where they’re teammates are without evening looking.”

Above her, she could hear Chat hum in agreement, before he plopped down on the roof beside her. His long legs swung over the side of the building and he leaned back ever so slightly with the support of his outstretched arms. Ladybug turned and zeroed in on the arm closest to her, she followed the toned muscle up until she was greeted by verdant green eyes. She suddenly felt very warm, and not because of the summer heat. She turned back to the screen.

“Kinda like us my Lady?” came Chat Noir’s voice, it’s deep sound seemed to transform into a sultry purr.

Ladybug looked back over to Chat Noir in surprise. She felt an involuntary flush of red dust her checks, and tried to will it away to no avail. In the dim lighting, Ladybug hoped Chat wouldn’t notice her blushing face. Luckily for her, Chat had turned back to the screen with a look of innocent wonder, causing Ladybug’s expression to soften and embarrassment to fade. This was her partner, and he was right, they worked just like any internationally ranked soccer team, if not better. “Yeah, just like us” she replied with a smile as she turned to the projected match in front of them.

Chat Noir’s ear perked straight up at this, a blush lightly retouching his cheeks. He peeled his eyes away from the game and stared dazed at his partner beside him. The lights of the city behind her left a golden halo around her and the ribbons in her hair danced delicately in the soft breeze. His claws tapped gently on the rooftop as he tried to suppress the urge to raise his hand up to play with the tempting ribbons – to stroke a hand through her midnight tresses. His ears drooped and he let out a soft heartfelt sigh.

Beside him, Ladybug pulled out her yo-yo, opening it up to reveal its main screen. She peered down at it, with pursed lips, her gloved hand poking around the screen trying to find something. She exhaled loudly in frustration, before placed the yo-yo on her lap. Using both hands, she shimmied closer to Chat until her shoulder nudged against his upper arm. Chat Noir felt suddenly light headed, and his arms buckled before he flexed them to ensure he didn’t completely fall backwards.

“Ladybug…??” he sputtered.

Unaware of Chat Noir’s distress, Ladybug reached again for her yo-yo and opened it back up, “Yeah, um, you mentioned you would show me how you got access to the security cameras?”

“Oh! Yes, of course!” Chat leaned forward to free up his hands and reached down for his baton. As the match continued on, the two heroes pored over their respective devices – interrupted every once and a while by boisterous cheers and shouts from the crowd. Eventually, with Chat Noir’s help, Ladybug was able to view the areas security camera feed and the two monitored the square from their rooftop hideout.

“This will definitely come in handy, Chat! Good thinking!” Ladybug commented as she swiped through various camera views of the crowd, vigilantly on the lookout for any akuma-like behaviour. She looked up at him with gleaming eyes and a smile, “Thanks, for showing me how to do this!”

Chat blushed again – internally cursing the involuntary reaction, before reaching up with an arm to scratch the back of his neck, “It’s nothing, my Lady. Glad I could be of service.”

“What’s this?! Is Paris’ famed Chat Noir showing signs of humility?” Ladybug scoffed as she jokingly elbowed him, “But seriously, Chat, this is great, we can watch the game and the crowd all from one spot!”

And so the pair settled themselves with Chat’s baton and Ladybug’s yo-yo opened up to display the security camera feed. Their eyes rotated from the crowd of fans in front of them, to their baton and yo-yo screens, to the large screen displaying the football match.

Every once and a while Chat would ask a question about the game and the players, and Ladybug would answer, sometimes using her yo-yo to look up team statistics. Eventually, they relaxed into an amiable conversation.

Chat did his best to try to soak in every word, every observation Ladybug made, and her commentary of the game surely outmatched any professional reporter. With every chance he could manage, he glanced over to Ladybug at his side and wondered if this is what going out on a date with someone was like.

“Which one is Portugal, again?” he asked.

“The red one, Chat.” she answered, pointing to the screen where it the camera was aimed at a solitary red clad player. The camera seemed very focused on certain players, zooming in on their reactions to each play. The one that the camera was currently fixated on, wearing a red jersey with dark slicked-back hair, seemed oddly familiar to Adrien. Shrieks of teenage fan girls seemed to fill the air each time he was displayed on screen.

“And who are you cheering for, Ladybug?” He continued, curious to know her thoughts.

“I’d be happy with either team winning…” She shrugged, “But like I said before, I’m impressed with Poland’s cohesiveness as a team, so I guess I’m partial to them. I don’t think Poland’s ever made it this far in this tournament... I like to root for the underdog.”

Chat paused, contemplating her choice of words, before realizing something.

“The underdog!?!” scoffed Chat Noir, playfully pouting his lips and scrunching his face in fake-distaste, “My Lady, wouldn’t you rather cheer for the under-cat!?”

Ladybug let out an exasperated breath not even deigning to answer his quip.

Chat leaned closer towards her, playfully smiling at her stubbornness.

Sighing in defeat, knowing he wouldn’t drop it until she said something, Ladybug muttered sarcastically, “Fine, sure Chat,” she waved a hand half-heartedly through the air, “whatever you say.”

Chat felt a sudden surge of his trademark confidence. He leaned even further towards Ladybug and wiggled his eyebrows flirtatiously, “Is that right?”

Ladybug sputtered before hitting back with her own sass, she reached out to tap a finger against Chat’s nose, causing him to momentarily go cross-eyed. _Cute_ , she thought before fully rejecting both Chat’s advances and her own inner thoughts, “Nope, wrong… forget I said anything.” Then she straightened her arm out to move Chat out of her personal bubble, before returning her attention to the game.

Chat rubbed his nose in defeat, “Well in that case, I’m hoping Portugal wins.” And he mischievously stuck out his tongue.

Ladybug chose to ignore her partner’s total immaturity, deciding her time was better served in scanning the crowd once again before refocusing on the match.

That didn’t mean she didn’t catch Chat’s minute movements out of the corner of her eye. He was ever so slowly sliding himself closer and closer to her. She didn’t mind too much, if anything he made a good leaning post. So she had no hesitation in meeting him half way and scooting over closer to him until their sides were flush to each other. She uncrossed her legs to allow them to sit closer, side-by-side. She could feel Chat stiffen on her approach, but she paid it no mind, she was tired. She leaned her head onto Chat’s shoulder.

Chat’s brain imploded.

_What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?!_ Chat froze. _I must be dreaming_.

He was stunned he could feel the heat of her pressed up against him. He tried to relax to muster up some of that Chat Noir spirit, but the best he could do was take a shaky breath in.

It didn’t help.                                                      

He could smell the subtle scent of her. She smelt sweet like chocolate and lavender. _Was it her shampoo?_ _Is she wearing perfume? Does she like chocolate?_ He thought to himself, dazed under her spell. _If I kissed her would she taste like she smelled?_

Ladybug, on the other hand, felt perfectly at ease. She no longer felt bothered by the humidity and found comfort in the feel of the cool leather of Chat’s costume against her cheek. They were partners. In battle they regularly held onto each other and stayed in close proximity without feeling awkward. Sure, she batted off his silly flirtatious advances, but that was just Chat Noir being Chat Noir. He was all puns and jokes, and she was Ladybug, sass incarnate. Now however, she was too exhausted to play the game, and she found comfort in the familiarity of him.

Meanwhile, Chat Noir was freaking out.

_What do I do with my hands!?!_

He risked a glance done to Ladybug and stilled. She was slowly blinking, her eyes barely able to stay open, her long lashes fluttering up and down with each move.

His heart softened, making him all but forget his own distress. He gently brought up his hand, careful not to nudge her off her perch on his shoulder, and place a hand sweetly on her upper back, rubbing back and forth.

“My Lady… “ He whispered into the night.

“Hmmmmm…?” she answered weakly.

“If you’d like to go home… It’s been a long week, you deserve some rest.” His hand came to rest on her shoulder.

“What about you?” she muttered.

Chat Noir let out a soft sigh, gently squeezing her shoulder, “Someone should keep watch... Can you make it home?”

“No. Chat we’re a team. You stay, I’ll stay.” as she willed her eyes to stay open.

“Are you sure?”

“Yep, I’m A-OK, Chat.” as she straightened up, Chat immediately lamented the loss of her weight against him, but his hand still remained around her shoulder. She shyly ran her hands through one of her pigtails, “I don’t know how I could fall asleep with all the excitement…” She pointed out as a collective groan was expelled from the crowd. Someone had gone for a shot on net and missed terribly. Ladybug added, “and all the noise.”

“We’ve had a tough week, I don’t think Hawkmoth has ever been this active… Speaking of which, should we be worried? That guy looks pretty upset…” Chat replied pointing up to the screen.

This seemed to wake Ladybug up pretty quickly, “Seriously, Chat? That’s Christiano Ronaldo! Have you never seen a soccer game?”

Hearing the name, Adrien’s cat ear’s twitched up in recognition. He knew he recognized that face, but it wasn’t because of soccer, he remembered meeting this man at one of his father’s events. He had arrived dressed in a custom Gabriel designed suit and wore the biggest diamond earrings Adrien had ever seen on a man. Adrien could vaguely remember shaking his hand in greeting, before the man had complimented him on one of his latest photo shoots.

He couldn’t tell this to Ladybug though, so he simply replied, “Oh! Of course, Ronaldo, that name sounds familiar!”

_Monsieur Ronaldo_ , remembering more clearly now! Though they had met rather briefly, the man had been quite charismatic and amiable. The man on the screen however looked decidedly different. His mouth curled darkly in dissatisfaction before he suddenly harshly spit onto the field.

Ladybug shook her head, “Ah, I’m sure it is, this guy is one of the highest paid players… don’t be too worried for poor Ronaldo. This match is in Marseille, so unless Hawkmoth decided to take a sudden trip to the coast, he should be safe from any dark butterflies...”

The thought of Hawkmoth on a beach vacation had made her giggle under her breath. Ladybug thought back on all their battles against akumatized victims. If anything was constant in the many attacks raged my Hawkmoth, it was location. There had been no reports of any akumas appearing outside of Paris’ borders. However, Ladybug still paused, thinking of what would happen if an akuma appeared somewhere else in France? or even worse, in another country? She suddenly felt uncomfortably uneasy.

Chat noticed her sudden unease, concerned, he thought back to her expressions when focused and talking about the match. So Chat indulged her, asking her to elaborate on what was going on, on the screen to divert her from her uneasiness. She welcomed the distraction and explained the rules of offside when Chat got confused and voiced her complaints to the calls made by the referee. With each minute she seemed to become more and more awake, and less tense, giving shouts of exclamations at missed shots and bad passes, smacking the roof with her palm at players who feigned injury at the slightest nudge.

As they continued in their easy banter, Chat Noir seemed to utterly forget his previous struggle of hand placement. Now his arm seemed to be comfortable, wrapped around his partner.

“Huh,” He smiled at her enthusiasm and passion for the game, before voicing, ”you sure do know a lot about soccer. I guess I don’t really follow soccer very closely. Hope you don’t mind all my stupid questions.” His tail flicked behind him.

“No, it’s fine Chat! I’m having fun! I just hope you’re not too bored!” she stated, worried that she had somehow offended Chat or just talked too much.

“I’m never bored with you, my Lady,” he answered softly, giving her shoulder a squeeze.

Ladybug let out an easy laugh at his teasing. _This guy can flirt with a tree_ , she thought.

She quickly recovered, and gave him a quick glance, “I guess I shouldn’t just assume everyone is interested in the tournament. I know my maman has been getting pretty annoyed with me and my papa these past few weeks.” She chuckled.

Chat hand dropped slightly on her shoulder, he stilled, shocked that she had shared something from her personal life, and they never really discussed their alter egos. Ladybug seemed pretty adamant about not revealing themselves to each other. This was the first time he had heard her discuss her family. He could feel her happiness and love for her family in her light laugh; it sparked a curiosity in him.

He wanted to hear more about her life outside of Ladybug. If she wasn’t ready to reveal her identity to him that was fine, he could wait, but if she was willing to share some stories of her home life, he wasn’t complaining.

“Oh really?” he asked shyly, testing to she if she would continue.

“Oh yeah!” She smiled widely, “We couldn’t get tickets to the opening match. But my dad and I came out here actually, even though he had to work early the next day. We painted our faces with French flags… and my dad? He has this wig… it's a blue, white, and red Mohawk! And he wore it! My mom almost didn’t let us leave the house!” Her hands waved in the air as told the story. She had become so animated and awake, making Chat almost forget about her falling asleep on his shoulder – but who was he kidding? He would never forget that.

Chat couldn’t hold back his smile. Imagining a Ladybug enjoying herself outside of her costume and with her family was a lovely thought. Not only did it humanize his perception of her, it also made him curious to know more. He always knew he would love the girl under and behind the mask and hearing more about her life made his heart simultaneously feel like melting and bursting all at once. He beamed down at her excitement, amused, at the image of a man his father’s age being decked out in patriotic face paint and wearing a Mohawk wig. The two shared a laugh and he stared at her with a heartsick smile before she continued. 

“It was so much fun! Even though when we got here there were so many people, my papa pushed us through the crowd to get a good spot… although I couldn’t get a very good view with all the people still in front of us –“

Chat cut her off, “Ah, I’m aware… a Ladybug without her wings is most definitely vertically challenged.”

She glared at him.

Chat bit back a laugh. He rose up his palms to her in apology, “Sorry… you were saying?”

“Yeah, well, I couldn’t see the screen, so my dad let me sit on his shoulders for most of the game… it was awesome! I had the best view!”

“Really? Better then our view from up here?” Chat inquired.

Ladybug glanced over at him, with a small pout, as she pondered the two vantage points. Finally, with a small smile, she replied, “OK, maybe it was the second best view, but at the time I didn’t really think of this as an option!”

They stared at each other sharing a smile before turning back to the screen.

“Your family sounds nice.” Chat commented.

“Thanks Chat, they are.” She paused before continuing, “What’s your family like?”

Chat’s smile faltered as he considered the question… _What’s your family like?_ She had asked, and immediately one word sprang up in his mind.

_Broken. My family is broken_. He thought.

He forced a smile, a second mask on his face, as he glazed over the question, “Well, for one thing, they would never wear a Mohawk wig.”

Ladybug smiled at him, patiently waiting to see if he had more to add. She suddenly was plagued by the memory of being stuck in a bubble with Chat Noir as they faced the Bubbler.

“Adults keep children safe and protected. They care for their kids. They love them!” She had exclaimed…

At the time, with the adrenaline pumping through her blood, she had just barely been able to catch, Chat’s saddened whisper, “Must adults do, anyhow.”

Reflecting back on it now, Ladybug feared she might have crossed a line.

The a silence between the pair lengthened uncomfortably, until finally Chat voiced, “So, my Lady, still think Poland will win? The ball seems to be on their end most of the time… That’s not a good sign!”

She caught on to the sudden change of subject, and decided it was best not to force Chat into talking about something he was obviously not comfortable with. This was Chat, her partner. She was concerned, but knew better than to push the subject. Just like Chat Noir respected her privacy, she would respect his.

So she went along, deciding to move back to their playful banter.  

“Yeah, that may be, but the scoreboard doesn't lie now does it Chat?” She retorted.

Chat let out a hollow laugh at that, “It’s only one goal separating them… wouldn’t be too hard to tie the game up, right? What was it you were saying before about rooting for the under-cats?”

“Ugh,” Ladybug rolled her eyes. “Care to bet on it then, Chat?”

Chat’s ears perked up in excitement, “Oho, that would make things interesting wouldn’t it, Buginette?”

Her eyes narrowed at the nickname.

Chat resisted the urge to laugh, “What are you suggesting?”

Ladybug replied flatly, “If Poland wins, you stop with all the puns.”

Chat gasped, dramatically bringing a hand to his chest, “My Lady, the essence of Chat Noir is my stunning wit and perfectly timed puns. Take those away and what’s left!?”

“A pretty blond in a leather suit?” Ladybug retorted, the words flying out of her mouth before she could stop them. She stiffened upon realizing what she had just said aloud.

Chat’s green eyes widened, “You think I’m pretty?”

Ladybug blushed, and sputtered, “I-I-I, ummmmmm…”

“No need to be embarrassed, Ladybug. You should see me out of the suit, you’d absolutely swoon.” He winked.

If Ladybug was wearing a mask you could barely tell, the line between her mask and skin blurred into one as her entire face flushed red at Chat’s words. _So much for being used to his constant flirting… but was he actually implying that she should see him naked!?!_ Marinette panicked, her instinct told her to jump, fling her yo-yo to the nearest building and run like hell. But in her head all she could visualize was a very bare Chat Noir, and it made her blush even more. She covered her face with her hands to hide her embarrassment.

Chat in the mean time, watched incredulous, as Ladybug’s face flushed a deep red. Then when her hands arose to cover his face he finally clued in, a little too late, on what she had inferred from his statement.

“Wa-Wait! No!!” He sputtered, his voice rising in pitch. He quickly added some distance between the two of them so he could fully turn to look at her, “That’s not what I meant! I meant out of costume in my regular clothes… you know when I’m not Chat Noir?”

Defeated, Chat turned back to face the crowd, too flustered to stare at Ladybug with her face in her hands. Chat leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees, and looked down to judge the height of the fall to the ground. Would he feel the impact in his super-suit? Would the destructive powers of Chat Noir save his fall? It wasn’t that large of a drop, and it was his quickest escape from the scene. Instead he settled for resting his head in his hands at a loss. _Did I just tell the love of my life that she should see me naked!?!?!_ _Oh God._ He felt ill.

The two heroes of Paris sat there for a few minutes, trying to collect themselves from utter mortification. Chat pondered on the possibilities using Cataclysm as a way to destroy the past 5 minutes from the timeline, while Ladybug tried to think of anything other than the naked body of Chat Noir.

_He meant out of costume, in his civilian wear, he meant his alter ego, not the R-rated version of Chat Noir,_ she chastised herself, _although Chat Noir in all that leather could already pass as an R-rated version…_

Ladybug squeaked. And shook her head in her hands, as if hoping to erase the image from her mind, like an Etch-a-Sketch. She was mortified that her thoughts had ended up straight in the gutter at Chat’s comment, when in reality he hadn’t meant to imply such a thing.

_He must think I’m a weirdo_ , Ladybug thought from behind her hands.

_She must think I’m an idiot,_ lamented Chat Noir, as he cursed his bad luck, _she called me pretty and then I just had to go and ruin the moment, well done._

_We can’t just sit here all night_ , Ladybug reasoned, _we’re here to protect the City_. _We have a job to do_. So if there was anyway to get past this they would have to either collectively ignore what just happened, or simply glaze over their predicament with their trademark banter… something that Ladybug couldn’t quite voice yet into words.

_You are Ladybug_. She told herself. _Chat is my partner, together, you regularly faceoff against akumas and save Paris._

Finally Ladybug steeled herself to skim over the awkwardness between them. But when she peeked out from between her fingers she could see Chat Noir shoulders shaking beside her. She thought she heard him give out an alarmed gasp, before she realized…

He was laughing.

It was a deep, carefree, and joyful laugh. Upon hearing it, Ladybug was stunned at the noise, until she understood how foolish she was to be panicking so much over their miscommunication.

_He has a nice laugh,_ she thought. _I don’t think I’ve ever heard him laugh like this before…_ Though in the back of her mind, something about it seemed so vaguely familiar.

_Well two can play this game,_ she mused with a small smile. Playfully, she slapped the back of her hand against his shoulder, “Taisez-vous, Chat Noir! Why are you laughing!?”

Chat Noir sat back up, trying his best to smoother his laughter, getting it down to a quiet snicker, before glancing over at Ladybug, who had crossed her arms with an unimpressed expression. “Oh, come on Ladybug!” he exclaimed, “Even you have to admit that was funny! I mean the look on your face was priceless!”

She herself, admonished herself internally, before allowing a timid giggle to pass out from her lips. “My face!?! Well, you should’ve seen yours Chat!” Which caused Chat Noir to answer back with a roaring laugh; his whole upper body leaned backwards as his arms clutched his stomach.

Ladybug gripped the edge of the rooftop with her hands, and let her legs swing freely as she chuckled along with Chat, shaking her head at their silliness.

Her pigtails waved around with the movement of her head, and Chat Noir stilled as he watched strand-by-strand whisper in the wind, her red ribbons tangled in between. His laughter quickly sobered as his eyes followed the space where her hair met the evening sky.

Suddenly serious and sincere, Chat shyly placed a gloved hand over hers on the roof between them, before lowering his voice to say, “But, really, Ladybug, I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable in anyway…”

She twisted her hand below his in order to let them intertwine their fingers together before giving his hand a gentle squeeze of reassurance. She met his green eyes that seemed to dilate at the action. “No Chaton,” she replied, bringing up her free hand to her forehead, “I’m sorry for the misunderstanding… my mind is truly in the gutter tonight…”

Chat stared at her, his mouth, forming a small “o”, before his eyes twinkled with mirth and he spoke, “Well, as long as we're in the gutter together, than that’s fine.” He smiled and squeezed her hand.

She sighed, looking around the square to avoid meeting his eyes, feeling them boring into her. Her thoughts were conflicted, stuck between being content in holding his hand, but uncomfortable in returning his gaze, afraid that if she met his eyes she would melt under his stare. She reflected on the night so far… _First I check out Chat Noir. Then I think he’s cute – then I almost fall asleep on his shoulder!! And then I totally pictured him naked!!!!_

_And now I’m holding his hand._

She looked down at their hands, holding each other, it felt comfortable; she wondered for a moment how if would feel to hold hands without their gloves on. Would her hands be sweaty and clammy? Would his?

Of course, Marinette was still head over heels for Adrien Agreste, the boy she had once called the love of her life. Over the past school year, however, she had finally summoned up the courage – with the support of Alya and Tikki – to get to know Adrien better, past her borderline stalker like tendencies. And what she had learned was that what Adrien needed wasn’t some girl drooling over his every move, (he literally had fan groups dedicated to such activities) but what he needed was a friend. So while, she still had feelings for Adrien, she had started to reconcile that her crush was most likely one-sided, but that wouldn’t let that stop her from being his friend.

But recently, as she and Chat Noir had become more and more close, she had came to realize that no one knew of her double life besides Tikki and Chat Noir. They were the only ones to see her as more than just an ordinary girl, with some major clumsy tendencies. Sure all of France praised her as Ladybug for her heroism, even Alya had her blog dedicated to her. But Chat Noir was her partner; he was there since the very beginning and the reason why she was able to overcome her initial hesitancy.

He saw her when she was at her lowest low, and he was able to reassure her that she was more than capable in saving Paris. She thought back on all they had been through, all the battles they had fought, and all the times he had shamelessly flirted with her. The memories made her let out a small giggle; before she suddenly remembered the kiss she had given him during their fight against Heartbreaker, and she blushed once again.

She knew how to avoid things getting too serious… just like he knew how to change the subject when she asked about his family. And so she returned them back to their tongue-in-cheek banter.

She cleared her throat, and spoke, “You know what, Chat?”

“Hmmm??” he murmured, she could still feel his eyes on her.

She smiled crookedly before finally turning to face him, pointing an accusing finger to his chest, “I blame you and all your flirting!”

He stiffened, “Wha… What!?! Blame me for what!?”

“Uh, for my mind being in the gutter!” She waved her free hand in the air, pretend-annoyed, “Yeah, you always have to push it don’t you?”

“But, my Lady!”

“No, no, no, don't even try to deny it, Chat!” She pursed her lips, “How about this? … If Poland wins, no more puns AND no more flirting!”

“Ladybug! You can’t be serious!?”

“As the plague!”

“Ugh!” groaned Chat Noir, just the name reminded him of the smell of cheese and his Kwami. He glanced down at their joined hands before managing a solid retort, “Really?”

“Yes really, Chaton.” she replied dryly with narrowed eyes.

He smirked at the nickname; it spurred him to challenge back. He placed his free hand dramatically to his chest, “I mean I only keep flirting cause its like our thing, non? I tease you and you tease me back? I waggle my eyebrows and you boop my nose!? You totally flirt back! It’s a reciprocated experience!”

“What! I do not!!!“ Ladybug couldn't believe what Chat was insinuating! _Reciprocated experience!?! What did that mean!?_ Chat was her partner, their relationship, while it bordered on playful at times, was strictly professional… _wasn’t it?_

“You have cat to be kitten me right now! What do you call this?” Chat continued, pointing down at their interlaced hands.

Ladybug gulped before quickly dropping his hand. “Well…” she started, “well, I call it comforting a friend!”

Chat fired right back, “Yeah, well I call it romantic advances.”

“You alley cat!” Ladybug exclaimed as she made the movement to stand up. Chat Noir broke out into another laugh, before quickly grabbing for her hand to stop her.

“Oh come on, my Lady! Stay! Let’s just enjoy the game together, alright?” He gestured towards the screen. Where Portugal was preparing for a corner kick.

Ladybug scoffed, swiftly taking her hand back and crossing her arms.

Chat conceded, “Fine, if Poland wins I’ll stop the flirting and the puns… OK?”

Ladybug shrugged.

He hesitated before continuing with a quiet address, his voice became suddenly soft and sincere, “But you know Ladybug… even if they don't win… if you don't like my flirting, I don't mind stopping… All you have to do is ask.”

She remained quiet. Chat Noir panicked that he had again taken it too fair.

After an agonizingly long pause, Chat caught her timid voice, “It’s fine. I don’t mind it that much.” she paused; uncrossing her arms, before finally meeting his gaze, “and it’s all apart of your roguish charms, right?” she finished with a wink.

Chat smiled widely. Giving a smug nod, making her laugh.

Ladybug elbowed his side, before continuing, teasingly, “Yah well… let’s just see how the game goes, huh?”

“Alright, and if Portugal wins? What’s in it for me?” Chat inquired.

She pretended to be absorbed in viewing the screen of her yo-yo, taking the moment to think. She glanced up at the game, where Ronaldo took a free kick that hit straight into the wall of players in front of him.

Her eyes flashed, when a sudden idea popped into her mind. She positioned herself to face Chat Noir full on, in order to catch his reaction.

“If Portugal wins, you get a kiss.” She leaned forward her face mere inches away from his. _How’s that for romantic advances?_ She mused, with a small smile.

Chat’s eyes widened in shock, his face flared up as he stared back into her blue eyes. _Is she joking?!?_ He instinctively leaned backwards, startled by her sudden movement, absolutely flabbergasted by her proposal. He felt himself lose balance, and for some reason automatically tilted forward to catch himself before realizing there was nothing but air in front of him. He desperately waved his arms, to save himself from falling forward off the roof. _Oh, mon Dieu_ , he thought, as he tried to counter act the movement by pitching backwards. Quickly, he realized he could easily stop his momentum with his arms, and he swiftly shot his hands backwards to anchor himself.

He breathed out a sigh, as he sat himself back up. He covered his eyes with a hand in embarrassment, nervous to see her reaction to his gawky display. _Well, she’s probably rethinking the kiss thing now,_ as he reflected on his clumsiness. _But had she said what he thought she said!? He must have misheard her, right?_ He had to double check.

“I’m sorry, my Lady.” His face still covered by his hand. “Ummm, can you repeat that?”

From beside him, she heard Ladybug give out an alarmed squeak.

Chat dropped his hand and quickly looked over to Ladybug to see what was the matter.

“Ummmm, Chat?”

His mouth went dry.

His tail was securely wrapped around her waist, showing no signs of letting go. Chat hadn’t realized it but, when he had tipped dangerously over the side of the building, his tail had instinctively wrapped itself the nearest object to counteract him falling forward – the nearest object being Ladybug.

“Oh! Sorry!!!” he groaned, as he reached forward to tug on his leather tail. It didn’t let go. Instead, all he accomplished was flinging Ladybug closer towards him. Her arms reached forward to catch herself, and ended up securely placed on Chat’s shoulders. Chat, in the meantime had let go of his tail in order to catch her as she fell forward. His hands firmly gripped her waist.

She felt his tail flex deviously around her waist in reaction to his hands grabbing her. She let out an involuntary gasp. They held each other’s gaze for a beat, both flushed, before Ladybug broke the staring contest to gaze down at her hands. They remained grasping his shoulders. _Have his shoulders always been this broad?_ She quickly observed, before looking down to his hands on his waist, and then quickly flicking her gaze back up to meet his eyes. His mouth hung open, his face frozen in shock.

Finally catching his breath, Chat gulped, and she watched the slow bob of his Adam’s apple. His voice came out in a broken whisper, “S-sorry. M-my tail… it, uh… sometimes, well… I don’t really have full control of it.”

His hands shifted slowly around her waist and she closed her eyes and took a deep inhale. “It’s fine,” she whispered back faintly.

He reached towards her back and found the silver-buckled end of his tail. Ever so slowly and just as gently, he unwrapped the leather appendage from around her. Her right hand fell from his shoulder to press against his chest to stay balanced. Through the pressure of her palm on his chest, she could feel his frantic heartbeat, and realized its fast beat matched her own pulse.

Having freed her from his tail, his hands were left hovering at her side, unsure. Finally, he decided to bring one of his hands to join her hand on his chest, causing her eyes to open wide, while his other hand settled on the ground behind him. He stared at the reflection of the night sky in her blue eyes, and felt her hand on his shoulder flex.

Ladybug looked up into his eyes, the black of his mask, along with the dark evening light, made them seem almost iridescent as they glowed into the night. Her body leaned forward compelled and hypnotized. She wondered what his eyes looked like behind the mask, were they green? Or was it just apart of his transformation?

Chat watched as she slowly leaned forward, his eyes dropped to watch her mouth. Her pink lips opened and closed a few times before she hesitantly, she bit down on her bottom lip. He looked back up at her eyes, and realized she was waiting for him to respond to words he had obviously missed.

“P-pardon?” he nervously breathed out.

She released her bottom lip, and smiled minutely, “I said, are we agreed then?” she whispered.

Confused, Chat’s brows furrowed, as he tried to remember what she was referring to, but it was difficult to focus with one of her hands on his chest and the other gripping his shoulder. “Uhhhhhhhh… on what?” he questioned.

“On the bet?” She responded, facetiously cocking an eyebrow at him.

His voice cracked as he further inquired, “The bet?” He closed his eyes in shame, quickly clearing his throat before repeating in a lower voice, “The bet, my Lady?”

“Mmmmm,” she affirmed, leaning in even closer.

Chat blinked rapidly as he remembered her words from before his tail decided to act on its own accord… “If Portugal wins, you get a kiss,” she had said.

Wanting to confirm that he hadn’t misheard her, that he hadn’t in fact been having the greatest dream ever, he swallowed, trying to clear his dry throat, “Could you repeat the bet… in its entirety? … please?”

“Of course,” she whispered, “If Poland wins, no more puns.”

“And the flirting?” he asked.

“I’ll let you keep that,” she smirked.

“Uhhhhhhh ok, and if Portugal, um wins…?” Chat internally berated his inarticulate behaviour. He was used to losing his cool in front of Ladybug, but this was ridiculous. Where had his carefree confidence gone? Ladybug looked at him like a predator staring down his prey, and it was better than he could ever imagine. If only he could stop his brain from short-circuiting.

She leaned even further now, so close he could feel her breath on his face, “If Portugal wins,” her palm moved from under his on his chest, and his hand fell limp to his side.

Ladybug had no idea what she was doing, but Chat’s stunned reactions gave her the confidence to push forward. She looked down at his parted lips, and was reminded of a time when they had been stained black. Her hand slid upwards until it reached the golden bell at his neck. _How would his lips react, with his mind free from an akuma’s spell? How would he taste?_ _What am I doing!?!_ Her fingers wrapped around it and she gently tugged him forward, leaving their faces mere centimeters apart, “I’ll give you a kiss.”

Chat couldn’t find his voice, he settled with a meager nod of his head.

Even with the arrangement made between the two, the superheroes continued to inch closer towards each other at a pace as slow as converging tectonic plates. Hot molten fire lay dormant between them ready to flow free.

Finally catching up to the game, and emboldened, Chat raised his hands, bringing one back up to hold her waist, while the other reached up to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear, before settling to cradle the side of her face. Ladybug leaned into his touch. The feeling of holding her, made him feel as if the power of Cataclysm was running through his veins, as if he was simply a conduit and she was his source of electricity. She sparkled and he burned.

_This is it!_ Ladybug thought, awash with conflicted feelings. _What am I doing?!?!_

_……………………!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_ Seemed to be the only representation of thought to pass through Chat’s mind.

Ladybug took an unsteady breath in, readying herself. He smelled of summer, musky and like freshly cut grass, and a hint of … cheese? _That can’t be right_. She paused, before pushing thought away. _I really haven’t thought this through. This totally defeats the purpose of our bet. WHAT AM I DOING!?!!_

Undeterred, Ladybug moved past her hesitations and pressed herself closer towards Chat Noir, parting her lips slightly, his hand gently squeezed her waist and she could feel his body seem to freeze under her touch.

Their noses lightly touched, and together they simultaneously closed their eyes, their lips were millimeters apart, just about to touch –

“AHHHHHHH!” Came a loud collective uproar from the crowd.

Instantly, Ladybug and Chat Noir jumped apart, both their faces burning with blush.

“OOOOOH! COME ON!” came a shout of frustration; Chat Noir couldn't help but agree.

“WHAT A SAVE!”

“HE JUST SHOT STRAIGHT TO THE GOALIE!” yelled another fan.

Another cry joined the fray, “AHHH, FILHO DA MIL PUTAS!”

Ladybug felt momentarily dazed, jarred by the sounds of distress and merriment that echoed out around the square. She swayed slightly side to side, trying to regain her equilibrium. Beside her, Chat Noir didn’t seem to be fairing so well. He gracelessly fell backwards, his back hitting against the roof’s surface.

“Oh!” She leaned over him, placing a concerned hand on his shoulder, “Chat? Are you OK?”

He stared up at her, and willed himself to vanish through the building’s roof. He tried closing his eyes. _Perhaps if I can’t see her, she won’t be able to see me_ , he thought desperately. He let out an affirmative “Mmmhmmmmm” to let her know that yes, he was OK, just simply short circuiting from their almost kiss.

Ladybug took her hand off his shoulder, “Ummmm… OK.” she voiced as she worriedly brought her hands together on her lap. Her eyes flickered from Chat lying limp beside her to the crowd and back again.

“Mmmmhmmmm” repeated Chat Noir, like a broken record.

They sat there in silence, for a few minutes. Ladybug fidgeted with her hands, eventually bringing them up to her hair, running them through her pigtails. Absently, she played with her hair as she watched the crowd and the game. The mass of people in the square seemed to quiet down as the match continued on.

Chat Noir, showed no sign of moving.

Finally, Ladybug huffed, “Do you need help to get back up?” She looked down upon him to check that he was still conscious.

He shook his head, eyes still closed.

“Alright,” she responded before again being startled at the sound of more noise coming from the crowd.

“FALTA , O ÁRBITRO!”

“FOUL!”

“OH MON DIEU!”

“WHERE’S THE CALL REF?”

The shouts seemed to knock Chat Noir out of his near-comatose state and he sat back up to grab his baton. He peered over the crowd looking for signs of an akuma amidst the crowd.

Ladybug clicked her tongue and stared at him from the corner of her eye before commenting, “Welcome back to the land of the living.”

“Désolé, I seemed to have spaced meow-t there for a bit…“ his voice sounded oddly hollow, even Ladybug could tell that his heart wasn’t really into his forced attempt at a pun.

“Well, Earth to Chat Noir,” she started, then paused before toning down her sarcasm to take on a more serious tone, “Ummm…should we address the elephant in the room?” She squirmed in her seat as she fiddled with her hands on her lap.

“Don’t you mean ‘address the cat and bug on the roof’?” he laughed humourlessly.

She knew they were both retreating behind false walls of humour to try to get out of acknowledging what had just happened – or almost happened. And while she tried to motivate herself to push past their usual banter to have a serious conversation… she chickened out.

Had she pushed too far? Was he angry with her? What would have happened if they did kiss? Her head swam in a sea of questions – leaving her insecure and too scared to ask him. Instead of voicing her concerns, she changed the subject.

She turned to look at Chat Noir; he sat slightly hunched over staring forward at the screen. “Well, it doesn’t look like Hawkmoth’s planning on striking again…” she began, “Perhaps we can take the rest of the night easy and just enjoy the game, huh?”

He nodded weakly, not meeting her eyes.

The next few minutes past slowly in complete silence between the two heroes, as around them cheers and chants erupted sporadically.

Eventually, Ladybug was sucked back into the action on the screen, watching the match continue on with invested interest. Chat, on the other hand, snuck quick, apprehensive side-glances in her direction. He wondered if she was still thinking about their heated moment like he was. Was she serious or were actions just a joke? Was she just getting back at him for his shameless flirting throughout their partnership? Or had something changed and was she reciprocating his heartfelt feelings for her? Did she even realize how in love he was with her?

Beside him, Ladybug leaned forward in her seat, watching the action of the match on the screen. He had no interest in watching the game. _The bet was just a joke right?_ And even if Portugal won, the thought that his first kiss with Ladybug would be because of a bet left him feeling heartsick. If they were ever to kiss, he wanted it to be something they both wanted, not just the outcome of a stupid bet.

The lull between them stretched out longer, Chat distracted himself fiddling with his baton, checking news and social media sites for any akuma-like behaviour and then switched back to check and recheck the security camera feeds. The heroes sat sharing no words, the silence on the rooftop slowly became a comfortable blanket enshrouding them from having to address the amorous moment they had shared.

Chat briefly wondered if he should say something… crack a joke? make a pun? He scrambled for some kind of word play, but after weeks of facing lame soccer-themed akumas it seemed that all the obvious witticisms had already been used. _Damn you Hawkmoth_ , Chat internally chided, _Well damn you for that, and a lot of other things_.

However, before Chat could get the chance to say something, Ladybug’s voice broke the silence

“Oh merde!” she exclaimed, as she brought a polka-dotted hand down to smack her thigh. Around them the square exploded with noise. But Chat’s focus was on Ladybug beside him, his eyebrows raised in surprise. He watched as she clicked her tongue, lightly clapping her hands together, before lowly muttering, “What a goal,” with a shake of her head. She seemed to have forgotten Chat’s presence beside her, as she continued, giving out a small hum of approval.

Forgotten was the awkwardness between them, and the sides of Chat’s mouth quirked up in delight. “My Lady…” Chat paused, amazed at her sudden outburst, the small “did you just swear?!”

Ladybug quickly snapped up straight in her seated position, realizing her slip of the tongue. She stubbornly kept her face staring forward, refusing to meet the pure look of glee on Chat’s face. She bit her lip before replying with uncertainty, “Ummmm…. no?”

Beside her, Chat let out a howl of laughter. Ladybug glowered.

“I’m sorry, I just don’t think I’ve ever heard you swear before.” Chat smiled.

Ladybug crossed her arms, indignant, “Well, I don’t see why you would find it so funny, plenty of people swear.”

Chat shrugged, “You’re right, I guess I’m just surprised. You never fail to surprise me.” He winked.

Ladybug’s only reply was an annoyed, “Hmmph.”

In front of them a sea of red clad fans chanted in Portuguese, on the screen replayed the goal that they were celebrating.

Chat watched, curious to see what had caught Ladybug off guard. Projected on the screen was the slow motion replay. It showed a dark-skinned Portuguese player receive a pass at the top of the 18-yard box. With a confident touch, the player – Sanches, Chat read on the back of his jersey – took a few steps before drawing back his left leg and striking forward at full force at the ball in front of him.

The ball sailed past three or four defenders, before slipping past the outstretched hand of the goalkeeper and into the corner of the net.

Chat let out a low whistle of admiration. Ladybug nodded in agreement.

“Not bad for an 18-year old, eh?” she remarked.

“That guy is 18!?!” Chat shouted in awe, before remembering that he was a teenager that regularly saved Paris from the evildoings of a super villain.

“Yup,” she answered, her mouth creating an exaggerated popping noise, “I think he’s the youngest player to score in an Euro quarter-final game…”

“Wow…”

Ladybug turned to Chat and pondered how old he was… Was he impressed because he was older or younger than Sanches? Had she just almost kissed someone inappropriately older than her? Or perhaps even worse, was he some kid still in école primaire?

_Oh my God_ , she thought, _I’ve already kissed him before… What if he’s only, like, 12?!?_

Unbeknownst to her, Chat’s thoughts were a mirror image. Ever since the events of the Pharaoh, Chat Noir had been fretfully concerned over how appropriate it would be to shamelessly flirt with a 5000-year-old super heroine.

He thought back to her answer to Alya’s question, “Ladybug… How old are you?”

“Much older than a high school student that’s for sure,” she had said.

Chat Noir gulped. Was she really that much older than him? How would she react to knowing he was still in high school?

Beside him, Chat Noir noticed Ladybug stiffly shaking her head muttering under her breath. His ears twitched trying to catch her words, but all he could catch was a defeated, “Oh mon Dieu,” before she brought a hand up to her face and huffed.

Eventually, the hand covering her face parted and a bright blue eye stared back at him. Her gaze ran from his perched ears down to his silver-tipped boots, before drawing back up to meet his eyes.

The action was something that as Adrien he had been used to. Countless tailors, photographers, and fan girls had critically scrutinized him and dissected him into pieces on the daily. It was apart of the fashion industry that he grew up in. He was so used to it, that he barely noticed it anymore. But with Ladybug, it was different, not just because he was dressed as his alter ego.

Whatever the difference was, he couldn’t put a name to it. What he did know is that it made time slow at a creeping pace, much like the slow motion replay of the goal that had been playing on the screen a few minutes ago. It made him feel warm, but not in the uncomfortable way the humid night had made him feel. No, it was so much more pleasant, like the feeling of putting on a scarf on a chilly day. It made him feel comfortable, cozy, and snug…

_Snug as a bug_ , he thought to himself with a smile.

But even with the comfort of being under his gaze, his body seemed acutely aware of her tracking eyes. His cat-ears told up straight, expectant and his tail trashed out randomly behind him, vibrating with energy.

Overall, the conflicting reactions resulted in yet another pink tinge to colour his cheeks. He cursed under his breath.

Her mouth opened, but no words came out. He sat expectant, waiting with bated breath to catch what she was trying to articulate. She quickly sighed, and closed her mouth, as if unsure of what she wanted to say. The fingers on her face suddenly came back together, recovering her eyes, before she finally spoke.

“Do you play soccer, Chat?”

Chat furrowed his brows. He had not expected that. That couldn’t have been what she had spent all that time hesitating over. What had she wanted to ask him?

He was tempted to ask her what she really wanted to say, to hold her hand and reassure her that she could ask him anything. Ultimately, he decided it was easier to just humour her.

“Hmmm,” he pondered her question, teasingly, as if she had just ask him for the meaning of the universe – which he had once been convinced he could find in her eyes. Sure he had done a few sports related photoshoots, one time posing with a soccer ball - but that was vastly different from actually playing the game. He thought back to her simple question, “No, I never really played it. I don't think my father would like me playing it…”

Ladybug startled at the mention of his family, she dropped the hand covering her face and stared back at him, “R-really? Why?”

Chat flinched, bringing his shoulders slightly upwards his ears, realizing his inadvertent mention of his personal life. Well, if she was comfortable in sharing anecdotes of her family with him, then perhaps it would be ok to return the favour. _An eye for an eye_ , he thought.

“Um, well…” he shifted in his seat, breaking eye contact with her to stare forward into the night. He clenched his hands into fists on his lap and pursed his lips, unsure of what to say. _Well, Ladybug, you see my father is emotionally paralyzed and controls my every move, except for when I’m Chat Noir. And – oh yeah – that’s probably why I behave like an absolute lovesick idiot around you, because being Chat Noir is the only time where I can truly let my guard down and behave like a normal teenager… well a normal teenager with superpowers. Because yeah, in my real life, I’m actually Adrien Agreste, have you seen my lame perfume ads? Yeah, that’s me. Can you believe it? So in between school, fencing, piano, Chinese, photo shoots, and being Chat Noir… I never really had the time to play much soccer._

…

No, he probably shouldn’t say that.

There had been a time were he would have not given a second thought to revealing himself to her. To tell her his real name, and detransform in front of her. Now he was suddenly unsure of sharing any information about his life outside of Chat Noir. She had lit up at the mention of her family. Trying to talk about his own family, made him feel faded and dim.

He cleared his throat, “Well, my father is a little… strict, and um, he likes to keep my extra-curricular activities organized,” he shrugged, “Football was never really discussed as something for me to do.”

Ladybug sat there concerned and confused. After having an internal freak out, she had intended to ask Chat how old he was, if only to gain some peace of mind. Instead she had chickened out and back-pedaled… again. What had meant to be an innocent question about soccer had suddenly turned serious. _So he had a father_ , she thought, adding the fact to the short list of what she knew about his life outside of Chat Noir. However, based on his tone, she wasn’t very reassured by this newly revealed information. Again, she thought back again to what he had said during their encounter with the Bubbler and shivered.

And so, Ladybug had listened and watched as Chat Noir deflated before her eyes as he talked about his family. It broke her heart to see him like this. He had barely said more than a sentence about his father, but his sudden change in attitude told her the subject made him uncomfortable. She had never seen him so dejected – it was just so un-Chat-like. She stared at his hunched posture and clenched hands. Behind him, his tail whipped from side to side every few seconds. His eyes glazed over, looking out into the night, unfocused. Again a silence fell between them. Ladybug waited, unsure of what to say, and frowned to herself.

She reached a hand out towards him before stopping herself.

“Chat?” she inquired.

“Hmmm?”

“A-are you alright?” She paused, trying to find the right words, hoping not to sound too forceful or prying, “Is everything ok when… you know, um, when you’re not Chat Noir?”

At her question, Chat Noir snapped up, his posture straightened up and he cracked a forced smile. “Of course, my Lady,” he answered, reaching an arm up to scratch the back of his head. His mouth twitched, making his smile look uncomfortable on his face. Ladybug hated it. _He’s already wearing a mask, why did he have to hide behind another?_

She stared down at his right hand, still clenched on his lap. Behind them his tail flickered vigorously.

This time she didn't hesitate as she laid her left hand over his fist on his lap. Immediately, she could feel his hand flex and unflex under her touch. Chat Noir’s eyes stared down at their hands, refusing to meet her questioning stare. “Are you sure?” she asked shyly.

His smile lessened, before he quietly responded, “Paw-sitive.”

The return of his puns did nothing to lighten their situation.

Ladybug squeezed his fist before he finally allowed her to intertwine their fingers together. Behind them his tail fell still.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she continued.

The smile was gone now, and she waited, not wanting to rush him.

His eyes were still focused on their hands. Eventually, he shook his head weakly, a movement that Ladybug would have almost not noticed, if she hadn’t been solely focused awaiting his response.

She tried to think of something to say, anything to help, “Sometimes,” she started, “it helps to talk to someone… I’m not saying you have to talk to me… but if you need someone, just know you’ll always have me, alright?”

He nodded before softly whispered, “Merci.”

Ladybug replied with a quiet, “De rien.”

Then ever so slowly she loosened her grip on his hand. He made no move to stop her, but he immediately regretted whatever he had done to make her hand leave his. The sides of his mouth quivered downwards for a second before he felt her other hand touch his arm, lifting it so she could place her own arm beneath his. Her left hand returned to holding his and he welcomed it gratefully. Then the hand on his forearm reached up to wrap around his bicep – effectively hugging his arm. Tentatively she leaned towards him and laid her head back onto his shoulder.

He smiled weakly and much more genuinely than before. Eventually, he tilted his head to settle his cheek into her soft hair. After a few moments, he shifted slightly and she felt his mouth against her head. “Thank you,” he whispered into her midnight tresses.

“Je vous en prie.” she returned, stroking her thumb along his upper arm.

They stayed like that for a while. Neither making a move to separate. They had already caught one akuma tonight; Paris could allow them some time to take a much-needed break.

Neither had noticed that the first half had come to an end. Paris continued to be, the Eiffel Tower gleamed against the sky, boisterous fanfare filled the air, and up on the roof of the Palais de Chaillot, sat Ladybug and Chat Noir together in their own world watching over their home. Ladybug held onto Chat Noir, and Chat Noir absently rubbed his cheek against the top of her head. They sat there peacefully, but alert, knowing that together they held an unimaginable weight on their shoulders, knowing that in a city filled with millions of people, that there were was no one else they would rather be doing this with.

 

 


	2. Poland vs Portugal - Second Half

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter! Hope you enjoy! 
> 
> Who else is cheering for France tomorrow?

Paris' guardians sat in a silence that neither party felt ready to break. Instead, Ladybug and Chat Noir found solace in each other's embrace. The passage of time had caused the hot humid evening to gradually take on a more crisp and cool ambience, making the young heroes lean further towards one another. Ladybug's thumb lazily danced circles against the hand she held, while her other hand hugged his arm close to her chest.

She was wary to speak, unsure of what to say after their shared words in regards to Chat’s personal life. _Did I push him to_ _o far? Does he think I'm nosey…_ _that I’m a hypocrite for prying into his personal life when I’ve been so adamant about keeping our identities secret?_ The list of questions that plagued her lengthened with each passing minute.

But most importantly, what was distressing her was not knowing… Having seen his reaction to the mere mention of his family, had her ready to fend off whatever was causing him pain, but in this case their was no akuma that she could purify, no balm for her to lay over his wound. So she had to settle for giving him a promise she would never break and a hand he could hold: temporary Band-Aids. Until he was ready to talk about it she could think of no solution... but she would wait.

Still, she couldn’t help but wonder…

_Was he okay?_

In the meantime, Chat found himself staring hazily into the night sky, searching through the painted colours for the glints and gleams of stars above the city. In the sapphire swatches of the heavens, he saw Ladybug's eyes; in the atmosphere's darkened royal blue shadows, he found the reflection of her long silken tresses; in each star he saw a freckle that sprinkled his Lady's cheeks. But the night was clouding over, losing colour and depth. Grey masses overtook the sky and the evening chill intensified. It just served to remind him of his life away from Ladybug.

He thought of her words, "...if you need someone, just know you’ll always have me", it was enough to make him swoon. Even more so, she was holding him. Her hand was intertwined with his and her head rested against him. He could feel each rise and fall of her breath and felt warm in her embrace. But the knife that twisted in his gut told him that her promise and reassurances were just said out of obligation to their forced partnership. _She must think I’m weak_ , he thought, _an idiot she has to take care of_. _The weak link in the chain of their alliance._ _Some hero, I am…_ he thought as his eyes misted, _I can’t even keep it together._

Chat tried his best to ignore these thoughts, to push back the tears. So he turned his attentions to trying to focus of the feel of her hand in his and hoping Ladybug wouldn’t think any less of him. Perhaps she had it right all along in keeping their identities secret from one another...

Beside her, Ladybug felt Chat shift slightly. His cheek left the top of her head as he reached for his baton. Unable to find any words to break the void, Ladybug settled for simply watching him to see what he was doing. She quickly realized that he was rechecking the security cameras for another time. Ladybug watched on with moderate interest as he flicked between various angles of the square before them, impressed to see how dedicated and resourceful he was, regardless of his own internal troubles.

Looking away from the screen of his baton, Ladybug stared down at their interlocked hands, red against black. Absently, she rotated their clasped hands, inspecting the curves and details of his hand. She glanced at the stitches in his glove and the light glare of green from the paw print on his ring as it glinted in the dark.

Ladybug straightened up slightly in her seat, realizing her neck had gone somewhat stiff from lying on Chat’s shoulder. After rolling her neck from side to side, she gently pulled their hands onto her lap for closer inspection, taking her other hand from his arm to wrap both of her hands around his one.

 _How come his costume is so much more detailed than mine?_ The designer in her thought, as she smoothed her fingers across the cuff of his glove. In comparison her suit was just a full-body polka-dotted leotard whereas he had _accessories_. He had boots with silver accents, clawed gloves that flared out dramatically at the wrist…

_He even has a belt tail, golden bell, and cat ears!_

_And what to I have!?! A few red ribbons!?!_

She continued her feather light touches against his hand. Even with her own costume covering her fingers she could feel the slight metallic bite of his ring and it sent a shiver down her back. He didn’t even flinch at her close proximity to his ring, trusting her completely with his miraculous. Softly, she pet and stroked his gloves, trying to feel his skin underneath. Until slowly she opened up his hand in hers to get a closer look at the design of his glove.

Chat, beside her, lowered his baton, and watched her in a mixture wonder and curiosity. Her methodical investigation of his hand had him growing nervous underneath his suit and he had to suppress the urge to squirm under her touch. But as her ministrations continued, his body became more and more relaxed, his eyes suddenly droopy, and his hand, in hers, flexed and un-flexed, muscles unconsciously tightening and loosening by her caress. With each touch she wiped away his nerves and worries.

Unaware that she had attracted Chat’s attention, Ladybug carefully brought up a delicate finger to prick against on of his claws – like Sleeping Beauty bringing her finger to the spindle of a spinning wheel. Expecting a sting, Ladybug was surprised to find his claw somewhat dull.

“Huh,” she breathed out in surprise.

Chat slowly blinked in her direction, while his cat ears lazily flapped at the noise. He remained still, curious to know what she was doing, but mainly just pleased to watch her.

Ladybug pouted her mouth, lowly muttering, “…I thought they would be sharper than that!” unaware that her words were spoken aloud.

Above her, Chat smirked, before flexing his open hand slightly. If she hadn’t been so acutely studying his claws, she would have missed it. But she was looking and she saw as the tips of his claws lengthened by mere millimetres.

Intrigued, Ladybug pulled his hand in for a closer look and saw that now the tips of each of his claws are subtly lined in silver. She slowly brought a finger along the claw of his pointer finger before hesitantly reaching its silvertip. Before she could test out its sharpness, Chat Noir quickly un-flexed his hand, and the silvertips retracted.

“Careful, my Lady” he whispered in her ear.

Startled, she flinched slightly, almost dropping his hand, before looking up to meet his green eyes, their faces close. His eyes glowed in the evening light and his lips curled gently into a small smile.

"Oh," Ladybug returned, her voice just as soft, "Sorry."

He shrugged, leaning back some, "It's fine. They're not as destructive as they are with Cataclysm activated... but they're still pretty sharp when I need them to be."

She smiled at him and for a moment they stared into each other's eyes, watching as the lights of the Eiffel Tower bounced off green and blue. Ladybug recaptured Chat Noir's hand in one of her own and settled them onto her thigh.

As Ladybug resettled their held together hands on to her lap, Chat reluctantly returned his attention back to his baton to verify that no akuma had been activated. After conducting a thorough run through of all the available feeds, he pored over various news sites, eventually settling on the Ladyblog.

Ladybug leaned over to see what he was looking at. Upon seeing that he had the Ladyblog opened, she smiled, closing her eyes in delight, _Alya would freak out if she knew Chat Noir was reading her blog!_

His swiping finger had paused at the newest post on Alya’s blog; it featured a variety of pictures of Chat Noir and Ladybug a top of the Eiffel Tower from earlier that night. The title of the post read: _Ladynoir Date atop the Eiffel Tower?_ The main picture following the title, showed Chat Noir deeply bowing beside an unimpressed Ladybug with her hands on her hips.

Chat’s eyes caught the post’s headline, causing him to jump slightly in surprise. The movement knocked Ladybug, whose head had resettled on his shoulder. In response, she squeezed his hand and ran her other hand up and down his arm, lifting her head to stare fully at her partner’s face. “Chat?” she questioned worriedly, “What is it?”

Chat relaxed at the caring embrace, gently shrugging so as to not disturb her, “Oh, it’s nothing,” he paused, clicking on the first picture, making sure the title of the post was not viewable on the screen before angling his baton towards her, “Just… looks like you were right about moving from the Tower earlier.”

Ladybug stared at the photo, laughing lightly. _Alya needs to find a better use of her time_ , before suddenly thinking of her friend’s complete disregard for her own safety. _Oh! She had better not be here alone…_ Ladybug’s eyes quickly scanned the crowd in search for signs of familiar amber hair. However, finding a specific person among such a large crowd soon proved to be difficult. So Ladybug returned her gaze back to the picture – her critical eye quickly realizing something.

“Ugh, that is not a flattering angle of me,” she bemoaned.

Chat frowned, looking down at her, clearly in disagreement, “When it comes to you, there’s no such thing!”

She smiled lightly, happy to see some of his regular charm return. But she looked back down at the picture and scrunched up her face in displeasure at the photo. In the picture, Chat looked handsome and debonair while Ladybug looked surly and the angle from about 300 metres below was not very becoming. It served to remind her of the multitudes of photos that had captured her superhero self-making a fool of herself all over Paris.

“Oh please, Chat! Leaping around Paris with nothing more than a yo-yo has definitely led to enough awful pictures of me, that you could fill albums!” Chat opened his mouth to object, but she cut him off with a shake of her head and continued, “Have you seen the pictures of me from last week? When we faced that akuma with the ice powers?”

“Wreck-ejavík?”

“Yeah!” She replied, laughing at the name, remembering the akuma’s stupid catch phrase: _Get rekt!_ “Well there’s a whole gallery of photos with me looking like a complete mess!”

Chat snickered, in response, “Ladybug, I’m sure that’s not true!”

“No! I’m serious Chat! I’m still worried someone’s going to make a meme out of me or something!”

The thought of Ladybug becoming a meme had Chat shaking with laughter. Still, he was determined not to let her get away with her self-deprecating comments. “Ladybug,” he started, “if you were a meme, you would be like that ridiculously photogenic runner guy or something…” He paused in thought before adding, “Plus if anyone was going to be a meme around here it would be me!”

This had Ladybug giggling in response.

“Seriously!” Chat continued, “Everyone knows that the Internet is ruled by cats! Grumpy cat, that cat with all the science jokes, the cat that plays the keyboard, nyan cat…”

“Doge…” Ladybug added casually, with a confident nod, feigning a look of complete innocence. She had to bite her lip to keep herself from laughing, her eyes gleaming with delight.

Chat turned to her aghast, looking somewhat offended, “A-Wha!?! What!? Doge!?”

“Mmhmm,” was all she supplied in response.

 _Betrayed by my own partner_ , Chat thought to himself, shaking his head in defeat.

“Et tu, Ladybug?” Chat spoke playfully taking a serious tone.

That got her, Ladybug, unable to hold back her laugh, burst with glee, quickly followed by Chat. Together they broke out into shared laughter, finding delight in each other’s company.

Once recovered, Ladybug resettled her head on Chat’s shoulder, while Chat returned his attention back to his baton swiping through the photo gallery Alya had compiled of the duo atop the Eiffel Tower.

Ladybug pointed at one of the photos, “Oh! Okay, that’s a nice one!” she exclaimed.

The photo, a little out of focus, showed Chat crouched, staring at his baton with concentration. Beside him, Ladybug sat with her legs dangling over the edge of the tower, she was leaning towards Chat, staring at him with a small smile on her face. The lights of the tower gleamed around them, making them look like silhouettes against the stars.

Chat smiled, nodding in agreement, it was a nice candid picture of the two of them.

He swiped to the next picture and Ladybug shook beside him, trying her best not to laugh, and failing terribly.

 _Oh crap_.

The next picture showed a startled Chat nearly dropping his baton, his hands a blur, and dancing around like an idiot. Embarrassed, Chat quickly swiped through the next few pictures. However it didn’t help the situation, instead it simply further showcased his ridiculousness as he struggled to grab his baton from the air. Beside him, in the photos, Ladybug stared at him with a stunned expression, eyes wide and looking lovely.

Chat continued to swipe through the photos, hoping to get away from the unflattering photos. However, the quick movements from photo to photo only made it look like he was playing an old stop motion animation. He was dying of embarrassment.

Giving up, he quickly flicked his baton off and stowed it in his holder behind his back. Ladybug had released his arm in order to cover her mouth. She stared up at him expectant, her eyes crinkling with mirth behind her mask.

Chat chuckled, finding the silver lining to his situation in the gleam in Ladybug’s eyes. In her eyes Chat could see galaxies. He shook his head, breaking himself away from her dazzling stare. He huffed a big breath out and turned back to face her, “Well, looks like I’m the un-photogenic one, huh?” He laughed, “It, figures huh? Black cat’s luck and all that…”

“Oh don’t say that!” Ladybug chided, before suddenly thinking of her own terrible luck, especially when out of costume, “It’s not so bad… Have you seen the photo of me flailing around in that ice storm?”

“I think I remember seeing that post on the Ladyblog, now… and I’m pretty sure you looked absolutely lovely, no flailing at all.”

Ladybug stared at him, squinting her eyes as if trying to gauge whether or not he was joking. Chat didn’t understand why she didn’t seem to take his words of encouragement seriously. Finally, she replied, “I think you might be a bit biased on the subject”

Chat smiled at her, _she may have a point there_ , he thought.

In the silence that hung between them, Chat played with the idea of responding with a possible pun… perhaps related to pictures? Or blogging? His mind raced through his choices, but nothing seemed to work.

_Can’t say I op- **pose** you there, my Lady… you know pose? Like posing for a picture? _

_No… terrible._

_What can I say, my Lady? We just click. Click… like the sound of a camera? Get it?_

_Ugh._

_I’m no photographer, my Lady, but I_ _sure ca_ _n picture us together,_ he thought _._

_No, no, no._

_Maybe I should just wink at her?_

_That definitely won’t work…_ Hadn’t she said she didn’t like his puns and flirting? And wasn’t that what had generated the bet they had placed on the game?

_Wait… or did she say she liked my flirting??_

Before he could summon up any appropriate response, the crowd flared in another explosive cacophony, both heroes responded with by squeezing each other’s hand. After a whole night of getting startled at every cheer and scream from the crowd, they were slowly becoming immune to it.

Chat Noir smiled, forgetting his troubles with words, and instead smiled down at their clasped hands. Ladybug didn’t even notice his reaction, instead her head snapped up to look towards the screen, trying to catch up with the events of the game. Absently, her hand on his arm slipped to grip the edge of the building as she leaned slightly forward.

The crowd had reacted to yet another fumble on Ronaldo’s part. Ladybug watched the replay of an amazing cross from Moutinho right in front of the Polish net taking a bounce before sailing right past Ronaldo’s outstretched foot. She clicked her tongue at the misstep.

Chat lifted his head to see what had got such a reaction from his partner. Upon seeing the scoreboard, he got suddenly curious.

“What happens if the score is still tied at the end?” he asked.

She hummed beside him, turning to face him briefly before answering, “Well, first they go into 30-minutes of extra time…”

Chat thought of this… torn between the possible delight of staying on that rooftop with her for a longer time and also lamenting the possible loss of sleep. “And if it’s still tied after that?” he questioned further.

Her face scrunched up at the thought, “Then it goes into penalty shots, best out of five.”

“Oh,” replied Chat.

_Oh…_

Chat was reminded of the akuma from the Switzerland vs. Poland game almost a week prior – a game that had ended in penalty shots. That akuma, _Scissor Kick_ , had been especially brutal.

And so they sat there, suddenly enraptured in the events of the next five minutes. Both caught between the need for the night to end to get some much-needed rest and the worry for the sighting of another akuma. The seconds ticked by, stretched out by the tenseness felt by all those watching the match continue to play out.

At the sound of the final whistle, Ladybug let out a heavy sigh. She lifted her legs up in front of her, stretching out her legs. “This is starting to get hard to watch,” she started, turning to Chat, “Up for a quick circle of the area?”

Chat opened his mouth, a response automatically at the ready on the tip of his tongue.

 _I’m up for anything as long as I’m with you,_ he thought. And just as instantly, he snapped his mouth shut, internally berating himself.

He cleared his throat, before replying, with a soft, “Sure.”

She smiled at him before loosening her hand from his. At the loss of her hand in his, he instantly regretted his answer, but upon the release of his hand he realized how stiff his arm and shoulder had become. He solely needed to stretch out and move.

The heroes stood up, both testing their muscles and readying their respective baton and yo-yo.

“Umm… after you?” Chat waved to the open air.

“Alright.” She answered before releasing her yo-yo towards the nearest building and zooming off.

And so Paris’ heroes ran through the night, stretching their legs and releasing some of the nervous energy they had both accumulated since the start of the match. As they circled the fan zone they broke up the odd hostile altercation between opposing fans and checked in with posted security guards and members of the police force. While emotions were high, it seemed no one had been akumatized thus far.

They were able to accomplish a thorough inspection of the area and land back atop the Palais de Chaillot, with still a few minutes left in the game.

It was still tied.

The thing about that was now starting to worry Ladybug was the fact that Portugal was probably going to win if they went into penalty shots. Chat had yet to make any mention of the bet she had proposed since they had almost kissed. During their jaunt across the Champs de Mars and surrounding areas, her mind had time to absorb the events of the night.

_I made a bet with Chat, where if I lose I’ll owe him a kiss…_

_And then I proceeded to almost kiss him!!!_

_I held Chat’s hand for basically an hour!_

_What is happening!?!_ The rush of air against her as she swung to and fro did little to clear her thoughts.

Even worse was the reaction when he talked about his father. Since then Chat had still seemed to not fully recover from her prodding into his personal life. Gone were his flirty advances and weird jokes. Sure, he had complimented her when they were looking at photos of themselves on the Ladyblog, but it was tame in comparison to his usual antics. And for some reason she found herself missing them.

So with shaky knees, she re-seated herself on the edge of the building’s roof, facing the giant screen as the final whistle blew. Players walked to the centre of the pitch looking slightly defeated and exhausted.

Ladybug could relate.

 _What am I doing?_ She asked herself. She had clearly taken things too far and things were tense between herself and Chat Noir. _Or is it just me?_

_Why did I feel so compelled to kiss him? Why did it feel so natural and nice to hold his hand?_

She stared down at her feet, dangling over the edge, lost in deep thought. She had never had a boyfriend before; she had been too caught up in her unrequited crush on Adrien to really get involved with anyone else. She had long since resolved that perhaps all her failed attempts at confessing to Adrien were a sign that things just weren’t meant to be. And she discovered that even with the heartache she was more than happy in being his friend.

And maybe that realization had freed her up to see someone who was right in front of her all this time…?

She let out a heartfelt sigh, just as confused as ever. Around her cheers erupted from the crowd and she found herself unable to focus as the penalty shots played out – shocked to find she was no longer interested with the game as her mind was preoccupied with other matters.

With her on the roof, Chat Noir stayed standing, pacing aimlessly back and forth. Waiting.

Besides all the football facts and knowledge he had gained over the past weeks fighting alongside Ladybug, the other thing Chat had learned was that when it came to these games, akumas more often than not appeared after the end of the game. Because with every win came a loss for the other team, and hordes of disappointed fans from which Hawkmoth could easily find a victim.

So Chat Noir remained standing watching the crowd, ready.

His partner however, had other things on her mind. At the sound of the referee’s final whistle, her head snapped back to the screen to see what she had been suspecting.

_Portugal won._

On the screen red clad players chased each other on the field in celebration, mouths wide in smiles as they tackled one another in all embracing hugs.

And in that moment, Ladybug made a decision.

_I’m going to kiss Chat Noir_

_… again._

She gulped.

Chat Noir, his eyes focused, was looking through the skies for the flapping wings of a dark butterfly, ears perked expectantly for the sounds of screams of terror over the yells of victory and cries of defeat, tail swishing in the breeze ready to react at the slightest change in the air.

Chat continued to overlook the spectacle at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, as fans celebrated winning and lamented defeat. Flags of Portugal waved high.

And amidst all the revelry and commotion, one quiet, uncertain voice shattered through his concentrated and intense focus on the crowd.

“Looks like luck, is um… is on your side tonight, Chat.”

He jumped violently in reaction – _so much to being on guard_. His tail pointed out, incredibly straight behind him. He turned to face Ladybug, who was looking back at him from over her shoulder. Chat became suddenly aware of his somewhat blanched face, spotted with pink, embarrassed at his obvious unease.

He reran his partner’s words through his head, trying to put them into context in their situation. He drew a blank. Confused, he raised his eyebrows, “Uhhhh… l-luck?”

She smiled weakly at him, before standing up. Facing him, she waved a hand to the scene in front of him.

“Portugal won!” she elaborated. However it was not helpful in clearing up the matter for Chat.

While the pandemonium continued to echo across Paris, a sudden awkward silence stretched between the two heroes.

“Ooookay?” Chat finally answered back.

This had Ladybug immediately regretting her decision. Stubborn – and a little bit of a sputtering mess – she pressed on, stepping closer towards him until she was close enough to reach out and hold one of his hands.

“Uh, well… Portugal… they won! So, uh, that means… you, you won the bet!”

Chat’s eyes widened, his hand tightened around hers.

_If Portugal wins, you get a kiss._

The words from earlier that evening ricocheted through his mind.

_Oh my God._

“Uhhhhh…” was the only sound he could draw out of his mouth.

She brought her other hand up to rest on his shoulder. He felt like he was going to faint.

For Ladybug it seemed that the feeling was mutual.

 _Abort mission, Ladybug!_ _ARRÊTE_ _! CEASEFIRE! STOP! STOP!_ Ladybug paused, panicking and ruminating upon the choices that had brought her to this moment.

 _What am I doing?_ She wondered as her eyes dilated as she stared with her chin titled up to met his gaze. Their mirrored faces of shock and confusion froze in place.

“Um...” she started, regret lacing her voice, “Unless you don’t want to…?”

Chat’s free arm snapped up to grab her shoulder, not in a move to draw her close, but more in a way to support himself and to keep her at an arms distance away.

He sputtered, “L-ladybug! I – uh – I-I…”

In his mind raged a war.

_What are you doing!?! This is what you’ve always wanted!_

_No, not like this. I don’t want our first kiss to be because of some stupid bet; I want her to kiss me because she wants to. Not as a joke…_

Overcome with a feeling of rejection, Ladybug dropped her hand from his shoulder, and loosened her other hand in his. She stared down at their feet. Lowly she whispered, “Don’t you want your prize?”

Her choice of words did little to help Chat’s predicament. Immediately he wanted to scream yes, but he didn’t like the way she had phrased her question. Because she wasn’t just some prize to be won, she was the love of his life. And if anything had been proven over the course of their partnership, it was that he was that he was in no way deserving of her affections.

His arm dropped from her shoulder and waved frantically in the air. Still unsure of how to respond, his mouth seemed to move on its own accord, his thoughts leaking out into the air, “No! I mean – yes! I mean… I-I just…” He watched as her brows furrowed and mouth frowned, sending him into a more frenzied panic. He shook his head at his behavior; he had clearly offended her.

Chat tried to dig himself out of the hole he felt suddenly buried in, “I just don’t want you to feel like you have to kiss me… It was just a bet… I wouldn’t want you to do something you don’t feel comfortable with…” Nervous, he reached up with his free hand to rub the back of his neck. He tried to let go of the hand that held his, but she reflexively caught his wrist, tightening her hold, refusing to let him escape, “It’s just that –”

Suddenly her voice cut through his stuttering babbling.

“I don’t feel uncomfortable about it,” she said as if it were a simple fact.

Her eyes had flickered up from staring at the ground to look at him, voice much more steady and confident.

“What!?” his voice cracked, but he hardly noticed.

She held his gaze, rewording herself, “I … I want to.”

“You?” He stared back at her in shock, “I-I, you… really!?”

She nodded, stepping closer towards him; he stilled, watching her.

Her voice entered the space between them, “Mmhmm,” she replied, “As long as you’re okay with this?”

Chat Noir's mouth ran dry, _Of course I’m okay with this_ , he felt like screaming, but all he could do was nod weakly in reply.

“Chat.” She whispered. It wasn’t a question or an appeal. The word fell from her mouth like a low and gentle spell, conjuring up a feeling of warmth and vulnerability within him. It beckoned him to lean in closer to see if he could return the invocation.

“…Ladybug.” He breathed her name out like a prayer and she sighed in response. The feeling of his breath on her lips sent electricity throughout her being and she buzzed as his arm wrapped gently around her waist, his hand pressing into her lower back.

Together they both stepped towards each other. Ladybug’s hand reached up lay atop his chest, again finding his heartbeat, while her other hand guided his own towards her hip.

Mere centimeters away from each other they both tilted their heads as their noses came close to colliding. Instead they simply grazed one another gently, black mask against red, sending sparks of magic through the air at the contact. Ladybug licked her lips and gave a quick inhale of breath as Chat shakily exhaled. Both heroes lips parted as they –

Were suddenly interrupted by a monstrous voice shouting from within the crowded square below them.

“I AM WARSAW!”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, currently visiting some family while also getting my laptop repaired... so this was written pretty quickly - and is considerably shorter than the last chapter - using a combination of my sister's computer and my mom's iPad! 
> 
> Also I did some more research into the Paris fanzone and there's a few errors in my description... I'll try to make it more accurate in future chapters!
> 
> In a perfect world I would have had a bunch more chapters up by now... But even with the end of the tourney tomorrow I'm going to stick with this fic to the end! I got a few ideas dancing around in my head that I'm excited about! So if you're willing to join me, settle in and buckle your seat belts!
> 
> So excited for the final match tomorrow! My team may not have made the finals but I'm excited for France to have the opportunity to win on home turf!


	3. Poland vs Portugal - Extra Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An akuma decides to join the party, are Ladybug and Chat Noir able to take the challenge?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm determined to see this fic to the end... it's just going to take me a while! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

A heavily accented yell echoed throughout the square, “I AM WARSAW!”

Immediately the fan zone erupted into disarray. Waves of panicked spectators rushed to vacate the area, as security tried to keep a calm control of the situation.

Atop the rooftops of the Palais de Chaillot, Ladybug reflexively jolted backwards, increasing the once infinitesimal space between herself and Chat Noir. Her feet rolled back to shift her weight from the tips of her toes back onto her heels. Chat in response, seemed to subconsciously disagree with the movement, his arms immediately stiffened and tightened apprehensively around her waist. The action pulled the two heroes back together, causing Ladybug to lean back. Her spine bowed and arched away in order to meet Chat’s eyes. The gloved hand she had on his chest smoothed its way up to his shoulder, while her other hand lay gripping his foreman.

They held each other’s gaze, frozen in shock, the buzz of electricity and adrenaline shifting in the space between them. Their mouths mirrored one another slightly parted and breathing somewhat heavily in surprise.

The slight movements happened all within a few seconds. The push and pull between Ladybug and Chat Noir materialized like the gravitational pull of the moon acting on the ocean’s surface – what looked like serene calm waves, hid tempestuous currents and powerful maelstroms, deep within.

Chat Noir stood stunned. His mind raced with so many conflicting thoughts and feeling that he just felt overwhelmed and overloaded. Even with the jarring cry of what in no doubt was an akuma beginning its rampage through the city, almost nothing could take his attention away from the beauty in front of him. Ladybug stared back at him, a warm pink blush painted delicately across her cheeks. Her eyelashes fluttered like a flickering candle in the wind, allowing him flashes of the brilliant blue of her eyes. And most bewitching of her current state were her plump lips. In all, Chat just wanted to memorize this moment, his Lady in his arms, her star-struck expression, her glossy pink lips, her sparkling eyes… all of her. This was the girl he had fallen in love with all that time ago and he selfishly wanted nothing more than to keep her in his arms, if she’d let him.

Internally Ladybug couldn’t believe her actions. Her eyes blinked wildly, as if she had been suddenly snapped out of a trance. _What am I doing?_ She questioned herself – after weeks of working themselves tirelessly over the span of the tournament, what had changed that had spurred her on to be so much more bold and amorous towards her partner? _Why do I keep trying to kiss him? What is happening?_ And even worse – _Why are we not kissing right now?_

Below them shrieks of terror resounded.

_Oh right._

Reluctantly, the pair both turned their eyes towards the chaos breaking out across the surrounding area. Bright flashes of light burst erratically throughout the crowd, while the theatre-sized screen continued to play the post-game highlights of Portugal’s victory. Swarms of spectators were frantically fleeing from the area. However, upon their initial scan of the area neither hero could spot an akuma figure amongst the tumult.

Ladybug took a step out of his arms and this time he acquiesced, watching her as she moved forward. She reached for her yo-yo leaning closer over the edge of the building. With a flick of her wrist her yo-yo danced in circles to her side.

Chat Noir peeked out of the corners of his eyes to watch Ladybug as she continued to examine the situation before them. Her eyes narrowed, focused. Her mask bending to follow her furrowed brow, while a small frown pulled at her lips. Chat Noir let out a quiet sigh, lamented their lost moment, knowing that, of course, the moment had passed, much to his dismay. For now he took a moment to marvel in the ferocity and strength that seemed to roll off of Ladybug’s every molecule before turning to face the pandemonium before tem.

They had a job to do and a city to protect.  

Chat reached for his baton, willing it to extend to the length of a staff at his touch. He stood crouched at the ready.

“Well, mon chaton,” Ladybug broke the silence between them, she let out a delicate sigh as she looked across the square in a defensive stance, “looks like Hawkmoth hasn't called it a night just yet.”

Chat huffed a breath, as he rolled his neck from side-to-side, stretching his muscles. “Well, someone has to tell that guy that it’s well past this cat’s bedtime,” Chat stated, pointing his thumb to his chest. He paused briefly, his eyes glinting mischievously into the night as he moved forward to stand by Ladybug’s side. He stole a quick glance in her direction before feigning a yawn, dramatically waving his free hand, barely covering his open mouth. He smirked as he added, “Cause I could really use a catnap right meow.”

Ladybug’s yo-yo wavered from its circular twirl, swinging weakly by her feet, a pendulum losing its momentum.

She turned towards Chat, her eyebrows raised beneath her mask questioningly. Her mouth twitched as she tried to restrain her smile. She quickly bit her lip before shaking her head at him, a small smile making itself known as her lips curled despite her efforts.

“Chat…” she chided, “The sooner we purify that akuma, and the sooner you can get your beauty sleep, alright?”

“As you wish, my Lady,” he replied, sweeping into a low bow, a hand placed on his chest, while the other waved his staff out behind him. He raised his eyes up from the ground to stare up at her. His smirk rapidly returned to his face as he added, “Although, with all my rogue-ish good looks… beauty is the last of my concerns.” He attempted to further validate this comment, straightening up and flamboyantly running a hand through his disheveled hair. To top it off he winked at her.

She scoffed, narrowing her eyes in his direction and crossing her arms. “Oh, okay, Sleeping Beauty,” she replied, a smile easily making itself obvious in her remark, causing his grin to grow exponentially.

A sudden commotion from below caused both heroes to return to their fighting stance. From the square burst a myriad of glowing orbs, red and white, like fireworks into the air.

“Are those…?” Ladybug muttered under her breath watching as the luminous spheres descended back ricocheting across the crowd.

“Soccer balls…?” Chat replied uncertainly.

Suddenly from within the crowd rose large wings; they glared a stark white against the night, the tips of them gilded in gold. Horrified people dispersed, panicking in their efforts to get away, dodging the oddly lit soccer balls as they plummeted from the sky.

Ladybug watched as a winged being ascended above the square, staring around the area in rage before turning slightly to focus on the screen behind him as it continued to recount the events of the game.

The akuma was coloured mainly in red and white, his large white wings met the white of the top half of his suit. His gloves were a bright red to match the lower half of his suit. Across his chest stretched out a red crested emblem at the center of which bore a white eagle. A black strap cut diagonally over the design on his torso, a simple messenger bag sitting by his hip, matching the thick black belt looped around his figure. Centered on the belt was a large metallic Polish flag belt-buckle.

Ladybug focused closely on Warsaw’s face, his mouth was cut in a deep angered sneer and his eyes flashed mad behind golden goggles that framed around the back of his head against his dark brown hair. It spiked in ornate patterns like a crown to match his golden tipped wings.

Warsaw let out a roar, his wings flapping against the wind.

“Ugh,” Chat sighed shaking his head in disappointment, “Of course he can fly…”

Ladybug couldn’t help but agree, it was always an added challenge when the akuma could fly. She glanced across the square looking for some higher ground closer to the akuma. There weren’t very many options, and she turned to her partner, saying, “Chat Noir, we need to focus on getting that akuma out of here so the area can be evacuated.”

“Right my Lady,” Chat agreed, “If we can get him closer to the Tower then at least we can get to higher ground and it’ll give the police time to get everyone out of here.”

Ladybug nodded.

“WHERE IS LADYBUG?!” The akuma yelled out, his enraged voice loud enough to reach the heroes even as they stood atop the Palais de Chaillot.

“Alright, that’s our cue, follow me, kitty.” Ladybug said as she took a step back from the building’s edge and started to run across the Palais’s rooftop. Following the building rooftop’s that bordered the gardens, the pair circled around the large area of the Eiffel Tower fan zone, Ladybug swinging with her yo-yo and Chat vaulting with the assistance of his staff.

As they ran, Ladybug glanced towards the Champs de Mars, keeping an eye on Warsaw and evaluating the possible akumatized objects that they would need to destroy. She watched as the akuma hovered in the air, reaching into his bag and drawing out a soccer ball. Holding the ball in both his hands, he seemed to focus some sort of energy into the object as it began to flash white.

Midair, Warsaw lightly threw the glowing ball into the air as he reared back his right leg and kicked the ball up into the sky. Immediately the ball multiplied, augmenting into ten or twenty clones of itself, bursting upwards before gravity pulled them back towards the earth. Ladybug craned her neck trying to see the effects of the akuma’s powers as she continued her run.

Those who were hit by the incoming soccer balls immediately stopped in place and began to yell something that must have been a Polish team chant, bouncing up and down and waving their hand energetically in the air.

She glanced back to the akuma, searching for signs of objects that could possibly hold the possessing akuma. Upon her quick inspection from afar, she didn’t seem to find any option besides the black bag strapped over his shoulder.

Ladybug paused, turning to Chat Noir as he landed beside her. “Alright,” Ladybug strategized, “from here, we can land on top of the screen and sneak up behind him, take him by surprise. I’m pretty sure the akuma’s in his bag. I’ll grab him with my yo-yo and pull him down to the ground.”

“And I’ll grab the bag,” Chat added.

“Right,” Ladybug agreed. She eyed the distance between where they stood and the screen. Twirling her yo-yo in a circle, she readied herself to throw it towards the Eiffel Tower. She turned to Chat Noir and said, “Okay, let’s do this! And don’t get hit by any of those balls.”

“Right-o, Bugaboo,” Chat smirked as he coyly saluted her.

Ladybug let out an exasperated sigh as she unleashed her yo-yo, choosing not to acknowledge his response… she was hoping the nickname wouldn’t stick. Chat, meanwhile laughing as she dashed away. He backed himself to the other side of the building, creating as much as a distance as he could in order to give himself a running jump. He lengthened his staff until it was about three times his height, holding it out in front of him like an Olympian pole-vaulter. Then Chat sprinted towards the edge of the building and leaped as far as his legs could take him.

As his legs left the rooftop, he willed his staff to grow even longer and as he reached the peak of his jump he planted his weapon into the grass below. Using his judgment and momentum, he swung forward descending towards the large screen as he withdrew his staff into its usual size. He landed just as Ladybug swung in. Chat landing in a low crouch as Ladybug drew in her yo-yo and somersaulted effortlessly across the top of the screen and roll up easily to standing.

Warsaw seemed to be oblivious to their action as he flew with his back facing them. To the crowd he bellowed, “My team may have lost… but tonight, I will win Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculouses!”

Chat paused at this. “Hmmm,” he pursed his lips, crossing his arms and thoughtfully tapping a claw to his chin. “I never thought about the plural of miraculous… Miraculouses is quite the mouthful, non? Perhaps, maybe miraculi? He jokingly added.

The akuma tilted his head. Perhaps he had a heightened sense of hearing, or maybe Chat Noir had spoken a little too loudly. Whatever the case was, the akuma turned and stared right at the two heroes, his eyes burned acrimoniously behind his golden goggles, a growl passing over his gritted teeth.

“Oops!” Chat peeped standing stiffly, before hunching his shoulders and turning reluctantly to look at his partner.

“Well… ” Ladybug huffed, somewhat despondent, “There goes the whole element of surprise.”

The akuma reached into his bag bringing out another soccer ball. Ladybug watched as it glowed red just before the akuma dropkicked it in their direction.

“Chat!” Ladybug warned as she rushed across the space between them, “Move!”

The flashing ball burst into multiple copies of itself as it soared towards the heroes. Once she was close enough, Ladybug dove towards Chat Noir, sending them both over the edge of their perch, the screen effectively shielding them from the akuma’s attack.

Bouncing off the not-so-soft ground, the pair rolled, one over the other. After tossing and turning over a few times, they came to a stop with Ladybug laying atop a sprawled Chat Noir, her head nestled between this shoulder and neck, her arms clutching his shoulders. Sometime amidst their tumble he had lost his grip on his baton, which lay abandoned in the grass a few meters away from his hand.

Ladybug waited for him to send her a flirtatious quip or some sort of double entendre that toed the line between innocent and inappropriate. This wasn’t the first time they had found themselves in this sort of position. Ladybug straightened her arms, her hands slipping from his shoulders to push on the ground on both sides of his face. She hovered over him, expecting a coy eyebrow wiggle or wink. However, he seemed to be frozen in shock and he eventually stared up at her with large blown out eyes. The only movement he could accomplish was a few rapid blinks of his eyes. Ladybug furrowed her brows in worry.

“Chat? You okay?” She asked with a whisper.

Chat remained silent, further adding to Ladybug’s concern. Finally he was able to respond with a weak nod with a small demure smile. The smile struck Ladybug; it was so foreign on his face, so colossally different from his usual cocky smirk. Nevertheless, Ladybug took some comfort in his silent answer.

Above them Warsaw again reached into his bag as he flew forwards looking for Char Noir and Ladybug. Out of the bag he took out an orange pylon. He concentrated on it, causing it to glow ominously. Slowly the plastic cone lengthened, thinning out as it transformed into a joust-like lance. The akuma swung it from hand to hand, as if testing its weight, before pointing it straight at Chat Noir and Ladybug and diving downwards towards them.

The flash of the orange light caught Chat’s eyes, causing him to focus past Ladybug’s sapphire eyes above him. He shuffled slightly, moving his head to the side, pushing slightly against one of Ladybug’s arms in order to look up to what was in the sky. His eyes grew even wider as he saw Warsaw’s incoming attack. The akuma steadily picked up speed as he barreled down towards the two heroes.

Grunting, Chat reached an arm out to wrap around Ladybug, the other pushing against the ground as he rolled himself and Ladybug over, in the direction towards where his baton lay on the ground, now just within reach.

This time, as they settled, it was Ladybug who lay below Chat Noir. The two barely had time to react to their switched position. Both turned their heads as the akuma crashed down upon the spot they had occupied a mere few seconds ago. Warsaw landed with such force, that a large circular depression was made around his kneeled stance and his lance pierced deep into the ground. Warsaw stood up, reaching for the lance, like a contender attempting to pull Excalibur from the stone. With both hands he took ahold of the hilt and pulled. It wouldn’t budge.

Frustrated, the akuma quickly abandoned the weapon, opting instead to reach back into his bag to pull out a corner flag, a long white stick with a fluttering yellow and orange marker. It was impossibly sized to have fit in the bag, but like most akuma, the laws of the universe seemed to bend slightly as if my magic. The object glowed and morphed into a sinister sword. Warsaw swung the sword back and forth, twirling it around in complex figure eight spins, before bringing it to an abrupt stop. The sword’s white matte hilt was attached to a blade that glared a florescent yellow and orange.

“What!?!” Chat Noir’s jaw dropped at the variety of weapons the akuma had at his disposal. _What else did he have in that bag?_ He thought. Out loud he voiced, “He’s like a murderous Mary Poppins!”

Ladybug looked up to him briefly in a way that told him that now was not the time. In response Chat smiled sheepishly. Together they turned back to look at the approaching enemy.

Warsaw glared as he walked towards them. “I will have get those Miraculouses even if I have to carve them out of you,” he spoke darkly. He used two hands to draw the odd-coloured sword behind him, ready to swing it down upon his victims.

Again Chat reacted first, shifting them into another roll in order to grab his baton. In one fluid movement, he landed with his back on the ground once more, altering his baton into a staff and swinging it behind Ladybug’s back and bracing it with both hands raised, ready for impact.

Metal against metal clashed together, creating a jarring screech. The sword came down upon the two heroes and was stopped by Chat Noir’s staff. Chat’s arms shook as he fought to keep the sword away from his partner.

Ladybug in the meantime shrunk against Chat’s chest, trying not to get in the way of the struggle and strategizing ways to subdue the akuma. Awkwardly, she shifted reaching out to wrap her yo-yo string around one of Warsaw’s ankles. As soon as her weapon was secure she jerked backwards pulling with both arms. Warsaw swung backwards, letting out a yelp of shock as he lost balance, dropping his sword and landing ungracefully onto the ground.

Ladybug gripped the string of her yo-yo, wrapping it thrice around one of her hands, as she swiftly – and somewhat awkwardly – pushed herself off of Chat Noir to standing.

“Chat Noir!” She called out, “The bag!”

Crawling up and bounded up from the ground, Chat Noir ran towards the akuma, who was struggling against Ladybug’s hold on his ankle. Warsaw rolled and snarled, as Ladybug tried her best to hold her ground. His white wings flapped frantically as he turned to lie on his stomach, his arms aggressively pushing away from the ground.

Just as Chat Noir made his move to grab the cursed messenger bag, Warsaw somehow was able to lift himself off the ground, propelling his body up into the air. Chat’s claws swung, catching nothing.

Startled, Chat Noir readied his baton, preparing to vault up towards the akuma, when he realized Ladybug had started to rise up from the ground. Pulling down with all her weight, Ladybug tried not to be carried away. She looked around herself for some kind of leverage, anything that she could grab onto and found nothing. She could feel feet ever so slightly lifting off the ground as Warsaw flew higher and higher.

Chat leapt up through the air, determined to tackle Warsaw and bring him back to the ground. Warsaw, however, foresaw Chat Noir’s plan and reached into his bag to bring out another soccer ball. Against the struggle of Ladybug pulling on the string of her yo-yo wrapped around his ankle, Warsaw had to focus on balancing the shift in weight to keep airborne. Therefore he threw the soccer ball without the charging it with any power. As the ball left his hand, it quickly divided into ten or twenty copies, all heading in Chat Noir’s direction.

His throw proved advantageous, as the plummet of soccer balls knocked Chat back, while Ladybug fumbled, losing her footing.

Chat feebly rubbed his face, as he landed gracelessly back to the ground. He needed some time to adjust to the slight ache of his muscles and stinging from the akuma’s attack. However a shocked squawk from Ladybug quickly grabbed his attention.

Looking up Chat Noir caught the eye of Ladybug. She flailed momentarily, her face hitting the grass before Warsaw found the strength to fly both himself and Ladybug up into the air.

“Ladybug!” Chat called, reaching out to grab a limb to keep her and the akuma from getting away. But before he could get a hold of anything, she was quickly pulled out of his reach.

Chat Noir gritted his teeth, angry with himself. He swung his baton, keeping his eyes on the direction of the akuma flying in the sky. Switching between vaulting and running on all fours, he pursued the akuma and his dangling partner as close as he could from below.

Ladybug swung to in fro as Warsaw flew higher. She thought over her options. She couldn’t just let go of her yo-yo. She needed it to cast Lucky Charm, and it would be needed to purify the akuma. Besides, it was much to late for that option; they were far too high for her to come out unscathed from a fall this high. She could untangle yo-yo from his ankle and regroup with Chat. But then the akuma would most likely get away. That left her desperately grasping to keep her hold on the string as it cut into her hand.

Warsaw seemed to sense her determination. He made to reach for his bag but this proved to difficult with the awkward flying from the added weight of Ladybug on his ankle. He decided to use this off-balance state to his advantage and began to exaggeratedly dip and dive in his flight pattern to try to get the superhero to let go. Ladybug jerked to and fro but she continued to hold on.

Looking around, Warsaw caught the sight of the Eiffel Tower decided to head in that direction. Chat Noir, seeing the akuma’s trajectory, swiftly made it to the base of the Tower and began to climb.

Meanwhile, Ladybug swung and spun, dizzily attached to the akuma. Her eyes squinted as lights from nearby helicopters pointed in their direction. As she spun in the air, she caught a flash as to where they were heading. The structure of the Eiffel Tower flashed much too close for comfort. Before she could react to protect herself it was too late. Her eyes widened just before she was slammed right into the iron latticework.

Her breath was roughly pushed out of her in a harsh groan of exhaustion. She tightened her hold on the string of her yo-yo. Her shoulder and side pulsed from the impact, a sharp pain running up and down her arms, followed by a numb tingling feeling. She gritted her teeth as she quickly came up with an idea.

She willed her yo-yo string to unravel slightly and lengthen enough to drop her on to one of the beams of the Tower. Running along the edge, she glanced around for the perfect spot. Once content with her choice, she used the extra length of her yo-yo string to jump up and backflip over a higher beam, effectively looping the string around it.

Flipping downwards, Ladybug landed on a lower beam. Quickly she tugged down on the string, using all her strength. The movement caught Warsaw off guard and he was sent hurtling into the structure of the Tower before landing helplessly on the beam where Ladybug had tangled her string. He thrashed like an enraged animal on a leash, but this time, his wings were unable to fly him away.

Out of the corner of her eye Ladybug caught a streak of black. Chat Noir was making his way up the Tower. Immediately she relaxed slightly. She turned to him, smiling and he was quick to return the gesture, bounding up on all fours. If she could continue to keep Warsaw subdued, Chat Noir could jump in and destroy his bag.

Holding on to her yo-yo’s end, her muscles straining, Ladybug was about to relay her plan to Chat before she was cut off by the look of alarm that came across Chat’s face as he made his way closer.

Behind her Ladybug hadn’t realized that the akuma had given up fighting against her hold and had instead gone to grab a soccer ball from his bag. He concentrated on the object until it shined red. Reaching back with one hand he threw the ball in Ladybug’s direction, immediately splitting into multiple copies.

Reacting to Chat’s look of horror, Ladybug turned around to come face-to-face with Warsaw’s attack. Before she could react, she felt the weight of Chat Noir pushing her out of the way. Still holding her yo-yo’s string Ladybug swung off the edge of the beam into the air until swinging back to land on the beam unharmed.

Chat however did not come out so unscathed.

Three of the glowing red soccer balls crashed into him. Two hit him squarely in his stomach, causing him to double over, a hand quickly reaching up to shield the area, too late. The third blow smacked against his left shoulder. The impact pushed him off balance, his arms reaching up, waving widely to catch himself. In a bright flash of red he was sent hurdling backwards, falling off the edge of the Eiffel Tower.

Ladybug watched in fright as her partner fell further and further. His suit was flashing oddly, causing her to squint. She felt a rasp in her voice and realized she was screaming.

Chat Noir was quick to react. As he plummeted down towards the ground he readied himself. Taking his baton in one hand, he moved to jam it into the side of the Tower. However, the movement didn’t catch and instead his weapon screeched, scrapping against the iron, sending sparks into the air. The reaction emitted a shooting pain up and down Chat’s arm and his body responded instinctively, jerking his arm away from the Tower. His arm spasmed and his grip loosened its grip on the baton.

Chat Noir struggled to regain his weapon but it uselessly bounced against the iron structure, quickly falling beyond his reach.

“CHAT!” Her voice wailed into the air, she tugged on her yo-yo desperate. As if reading her mind the yo-yo untangled itself from Warsaw’s ankle and looped back around the beam, the polka-dotted disc returning back to her hand.

Without giving in another thought Ladybug dove.

The wind whistled past her ears as she willed her body to move faster and faster downwards. She tried to make her body as vertical as possible, streamlining her body to cut through the air.

Chat flailed, falling and falling. He desperately searched for something to grab onto, something for him to dig his claws into to slow his descent, but he had been thrown so far off the edge of the Eiffel Tower by Warsaw’s cursed soccer balls that the Tower itself was out of reach.

A noise from above caught him off guard. He looked up.

Above him, he saw Ladybug, diving towards him. “Chat!” she yelled.

Panic flooded his senses, _What is she doing!!?!_ He thought. He stared up at her in shock, watching as she dove headfirst towards him, her arms pointing downwards like an Olympic diver. Suddenly it dawned on him that try as she might she would not be able to reach him unless he slowed his fall. Pushing himself against the speeding air, he tried bowing his body to slow his decent, falling as if he were simply lying in bed. He spread his limbs wide trying to get his body as wide as possible. Falling felt much more manageable watching Ladybug move closer to him as opposed to the ground.

The effect worked, allowing Ladybug to gain on him. She stretched out a hand and he grabbed on. She flipped in the air and he straightened up against her. If it weren’t for their current predicament of free falling from the top of the Eiffel Tower, Chat would have swooned.

“Grab onto me!” She shouted, her bangs and pigtails fluttering up against gravity.

Chat nodded, one arm wrapping around her waist and the other around her shoulder. Behind her, his hands clasped together. His legs wrapped securely around her thighs. His costume was glowing red now, giving her some cause for concern.

Once satisfied with Chat Noir’s hold on her body, Ladybug threw out her yo-yo. Her aim rang true as her weapon wrapped itself securely around a beam. Ladybug grit her teeth for the incoming strain her arms were about to go through.

She tried to clear her mind of the panic and pain running through her mind. _I am Ladybug,_ she told herself, the mantra running on repeat in her head, _I am Ladybug. I am Ladybug._

_I am Ladybug._

They continued their fall for another second until the string of the yo-yo pulled taut and Ladybug’s shoulders screamed out against the tension, causing her to let out a gasp of pain. She felt Chat Noir’s hold around her tighten. He seemed to erupt into a ball of red all around her; perhaps the effects of Warsaw’s red soccer balls were finally taking effect. This added to her panicked state, but Ladybug took some solace in the fact that he was holding on and had not made a move to push away from her. So most likely he was not under Warsaw’s mind control.

She tried to ignore the spasms of her muscles, the burning echoing throughout her arm, attempting to focus on the path of their swing, listening to Chat Noir’s rushed hot breath against her ear. He shifted slightly, tucking his head into the shadow of her neck. If it weren’t for the high cut of her suit and its thick black collar around her neck she would’ve felt the warm imprint of his lips against her clavicle.

She held on.

The two heroes swung like a pendulum. Their fall slowed some, curling in on itself as they circled closer to the base of the Eiffel Tower. Thankfully, it seemed that the police had successfully evacuated the area. The usually bustling tourist spot was empty. She scoped the area, happy to see that even Alya had not dared to venture close to the action.

And then all to suddenly, Ladybug realized that they were very _very_ close to the ground.

Her shoulder felt like it was being pulled out of its socket and her hands felt numb. They continued on their orbit, one that was soon to be interrupted by the hard earth below them. Ladybug brought her legs up, pointing her toes as they curved, her black spotted derrière barely grazing against blades of grass.

As they leveled out somewhat with the ground, Ladybug’s hold gave out. She couldn’t hold out any longer. Her yo-yo responded, unraveling from its hold on the Eiffel Tower, returning back to its home in Ladybug’s hand and releasing the duo’s weight into the air.

Ladybug clung onto Chat, but as they bumped and bounced around the Tower’s foundation, they were soon torn apart from the force of impact. Ladybug came to an abrupt stop, slamming into one of the giant pillars of the Eiffel Tower as Chat Noir continued to roll; eventually ending up sprawled facing upwards to the mixture of sky and iron.

_How many times tonight have I ended up landing on my butt?_ He pondered his eyes staring unfocused into the space above him.

A clinging of metal sung out from above, a clicking chatter of metal hitting metal, getting louder and louder. Chat Noir squinted into the space above him, searching through the latticework of the Tower’s design for any signs of an incoming attack, one that he didn’t have the energy to prepare for. However instead of being bombarded by another barrage of glowing soccer balls, he caught a glint of silver bouncing from a beam before he was swiftly smacked at the top of his head by his baton.

“Oof!” He gasped reaching out with one hand to intercept the rogue weapon as it made to land in the grass. His other reflexively rubbed against his forehead.

Opening his eyes he caught the sudden amount of red on his costume. The bright colour against his black suit reminded him of Ladybug. Confused, he sat up and looked down at himself.

Above his suit, he realized he was now wearing a Polish soccer jersey, a solid bright red that morphed into darkened waves near the bottom.

Tugging at the material, he let out a sputter, “W-what!?”

This was the attack he had saved Ladybug from, red glowing soccer ball that transformed the victim into… being forced to wear a jersey. He fell back against the grass below him and let out a thankful sigh.

_I’m in control_ , he thought to himself. _We can take this akuma on easy_ , he smiled to himself.

A quiet voice reached his ears, “Chat?”

His ears twitched, catching the whisper as it wavered in the air. He jumped up to standing, intent on responding to the call as quickly as he could, but the stiff movements of his muscles and ache in his bones slowed him done considerably. A feeling of nausea washed over him and his torso throbbed in pain. He stretched his arms above his head, rolled his shoulders and tested his muscles as he walked. Reaching up his hands to pull at the neck of the red jersey, he ignored the lingering ache, intent on taking off the added layer on top of his suit.

The shirt did not budge. Not surprised, Chat quickly gave up, knowing that Ladybug’s Lucky Charm would surely remove the jersey by the end of the night.

He walked across the grass, heading to the base of the Eiffel Tower, an arm wrapped defensively against his gut. As he transitioned onto the pavement, he continued walking until he found himself right dead center under the Tower. Looking side to side, he called out, “Ladybug?”

A grunt of response caused Chat Noir to turn around. Behind him Ladybug knelt, in the wake of bent metal fencing. She had an elbow braced against the stone column holding the golden bust of Gustave Eiffel, her other arm cradled against her chest, holding her yo-yo. Her face was strained as she tried to stand up.

“Ladybug!” He yelled, quickly forgetting his muscle’s aches, rushing over to her side, “Are you alright?”

She nodded in reply. Her eyes squeezed shut. The action did nothing to settle Chat’s worry; she was in pain from rescuing him from the fall. The dread of guilt flooded his mind.

“How about you, Chat?” She asked in return.

Chat let out a sound of annoyance, as if his health was the least of their worries. Chat reached out a hand to help her and said, “You know, cat’s like me. We always land on our feet.”

She opened her eyes, looking up at him was a skeptically raised brow; the blue of her eyes was slightly glazed, reflecting the lights of the Tower around them. Her eyes locked on to his new attire and she smiled.

“So white soccer balls turns you into a cheerleading zombie. And red soccer balls make you play dress-up?” She chuckled.

Chat Noir sighed, tugging on the red fabric over his suit, “Well, it seems the akuma prefers me in red.” He gestured to his outstretched hand, welcoming her to accept his assistance.

She gritted her teeth, ignoring his hand as she tried to push up off the ground. Her knee hovered slightly as she rose slightly only to resettle back on the cold cement.

Concerned, Chat Noir leaned in closer about to voice his worry, before Ladybug cut him off.

“Yeah, well,” she exhaled loudly before continuing, “red is _my_ colour.”

“But hey!” Chat exclaimed, “At least now we match!” He grinned widely, before sobering quite quickly, watching her posture curl more in on itself. His smile faded. “Ladybug…” Chat breathed out as he reached an arm, “Are you sure you’re okay?” His arm settled gently on her shoulder –

“AH!” Ladybug cried out in pain.

Chat’s jumped back in alarm, swiftly removing his hand from her. His ears folded down against his head and he sputtered out, “I-I’m sorry!”

“It’s alright Chat.” Ladybug replied. “I just – My arm is – “ she hesitated before letting out another loud exhale. She looked up at him, the usual self-assured and confident demeanor melting into a suddenly shy and serious expression. A low whisper escaped her lips, “I just need some help to stand… please?”

Chat nodded, immediately moving to help her. However, he hesitated, unsure of where to touch her.

Eventually he settled against the stone pillar baring the Eiffel name. Taking a hold of Ladybug’s left hand that she was leaning against, he kneeled down low beside her and looped her arm gently around his neck. His other arm wrapped around her waist, careful not to disrupt her too much.

Chat turned to look at Ladybug; with their height difference he could only see the top of her head.

“Ready?” Chat whispered.

He felt Ladybug’s face settle into the dip between his neck and collarbone. She gave a weak nod.

“Okay, on three,” Chat continued.

Tentatively Chat tightened his hold around her waist and began the count, his voice a low whisper in her ear, “One…”

“Two…” Ladybug took a large inhale, preparing herself.

“Three.” They whispered together.

Taking most of her weight, Chat Noir rose upwards holding Ladybug, helping her up. She wobbled on the spot, balancing on her right leg, before lightly placing her left foot on the ground.

She winced.

Chat Noir’s heart stuttered. His attempt to save her from the akuma’s attack had only led to her injury.

Ladybug began to test her steps, slowly placing more and more weight on her injured leg. Her body gradually leaned less and less against him.

“Thank you,” Chat spoke, a light blush dusting his cheeks, “for catching me.”

She paused, turning her face upwards to meet his gaze, “No problem, Kitty. I know you’d do the same for me,” she replied. Her mouth curved into a small smile, until she was reminded of something. “Plus, I should thank you… you saved me too,” she gestured to his red jersey. But she wasn’t just referencing today’s attack, she thought of all the times he had selflessly jumped into the line of fire to protect her, all the times he was used as a weapon against her, worst of all, him vanishing before her eyes when Timebreaker had struck.

Chat chuckled, shaking his head, “Well… I only saved you from a t-shirt attack…”

“But at the time we didn’t know what that attack entailed… Speaking of which,” Ladybug began; she removed her arm from around his shoulder, now trusting her legs to carry her. Her other arm cradled against her chest, slowly unraveled and she rolled her shoulder, testing its limits. She took a determined step away from Chat’s side, eventually walking more comfortably, her limp becoming less and less noticeable. She continued forwards until she stood at the center of the square under the Tower.

Chat followed her closely, pausing at her side. She turned to him, her voice strong and eyes wide, “Where is the akuma?”

Knowingly, the pair looked upwards. Above them, white wings circled around and around the Eiffel Tower, peeking out from between the latticework, a sinister twister slowly making its descend towards them.

“Ladybug…?” Chat asked, watching as she readied her yo-yo, her eyes tracking the akuma, “Are you okay to fight?”

She turned to him, a confident smirk hiding her grimace as she rolled her shoulders and bounced slightly on the spot, like a boxer in the ring, testing herself before replying, “I’m alright Chat. A few bumps and bruises won’t keep me from capturing that akuma.”

She twirled her yo-yo, crouching down into a defensive position. Chat followed suit watching as the akuma dropped lower and lower in the sky.

As Warsaw neared the base of the Tower, Ladybug threw out her yo-yo, intent on getting a hold of him once more.

Warsaw however anticipated the move and deftly rolled in the air, his wings wrapping around him as he spun sideways in the air, effectively evading Ladybug’s attack. Recovering quite quickly, he reached into his bag and withdrew another soccer ball before finding cover behind one of the Tower’s pillars.

Whipping quickly through the air, Ladybug’s yo-yo snapped back into the palm of her hand. The pair stood ready, about to move forward to get to the akuma, but before they could even move more than a few steps, Warsaw flew out from behind the pillar, landing onto the ground.

In his hands, a soccer ball glowed an ominous black. Chat waved out his baton, it quickly extended into a staff as he spun it from hand to hand. Warsaw dropped the ball onto the pavement in front of him, a smoky mist eradiated from it. He took two lithe steps backwards, preparing to kick the ball at the two heroes.

“Wait,” Chat thought aloud, crouching into a defensive stance, “What do black soccer balls do?”

As Warsaw stepped forward, Ladybug scowled, unsure of what this new attack would bring, but something in her gut told her it couldn’t be good. Her clutch on her yo-yo tightened as she bent on her knees, ignoring the hammering pain resounding in her shoulder and ankle. “I’m not sure…” she replied, “Just don’t get hit!!”

Warsaw’s foot connected with the glaring ball, it scorched like a charcoal flame as it cut forcibly through the air, immediately splitting into ten or so copies of itself. Ladybug and Chat Noir watched as the spheres contorted on their flight, oddly shifting into a metallic sheen and flattening out. The objects spun rapidly, visibly sharpening into jagged, sharp, circular saws.

Chat Noir’s mouth dropped open, stunned at the sudden violent attack. Ladybug, too, was in shock. This akuma was not making things easy for them. She was exhausted and the pain in her shoulder throbbed, warning her from further straining the injury. Her breath came out in panicked successive huffs. This battle was not going well.

She gritted her teeth.

_I am Ladybug._

Her eyes flashed as they darted between the incoming spinning saws, calculating their trajectory, she bent her knees, preparing herself.

Chat Noir leapt into the air, his body turning in the air. As he rose, he crossed his arms tight around his torso, his body spinning like a sideways corkscrew, successfully evading three saws. One saw passed below him, where his legs were previously standing, while the other blades flew above his spiraling form.

Ladybug, in the meantime, waited for the right time. As the closest blade advanced upon her, she bent backwards into a series of back handsprings. She weaved around the remaining incoming projectiles, landing back on her feet.

The saws continued past their targets. And finally with a loud screech, Ladybug turned to see the saws bore themselves into the sides of the Eiffel Tower in a mess of sparks and flashing metal, looking like some kind of odd art installation, an appendage of curled alloy around the foot of the Tower.

In front of her, she saw Chat Noir crouched low, having landed on a deep side lunge with one hand on the ground, his other arm held his staff to his side. He stood back up, turning back to Ladybug with an odd expression, caught somewhere between smiling and grimacing, before his mouth just gaped open in astonishment, looking past Ladybug and seeing the destruction left on the pillar behind her.

Likewise, Ladybug returned the shocked expression but her eyes caught the movement behind Chat Noir. Her eyes widened. She yelled out a warning, “Chat!”

Chat turned back at the akuma just in time to see him activate another ball, again it glowed the telling black blaze. Warsaw let out a furious roar, his leg swinging backwards, about to kick forward. Without really thinking, Chat Noir held his staff like a baseball bat, his first instinct somehow thinking that that would be a viable form of defense.

However before he could test his staff against the incoming attack of spiked blades, he was pulled backwards.

Turning around, he blinked at Ladybug, who had run up to grab him, his tail in her hands. She stared at his hold on his staff and blinked, tilting her head questioningly before she understood his intent. Deciding against his idea of playing a bat-and-ball game with a staff and saw, she tore his left hand from its grip and tugged him along, sprinting out of the spinning saws path.

Chat trailed by her side before, quickly catching onto her idea for retreat, just as a serrated saw whirled mere centimeters past his feline ears. They made their way out from under the Eiffel Tower. Chat Noir shook his hand to get Ladybug’s attention to let go of his wrist. Once free, he wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close, while his right arm aimed his staff forwards. Ladybug turned into his hold and reached to hold on to him, her arms folding around his neck just as he leapt into the air, taking all her weight with him.

Taking on Ladybug’s weight, somewhat slowed him down, but after another leap forward they were able to get cover, this time standing in front of the fan zone screen. Ladybug let go of her hold around him and bent over her hands settling on her knees as she tried to find a moment of reprieve. The post-game highlights still played out on the screen with no sound, as the heroes paused to catch their breath.

Chat Noir, stood beside her, huffing out a breath, his cheeks blowing out air, mimicking the motion of whistling. “Well…” his voice broke through the silence, still out of breath. He looked back towards the Tower and then back to Ladybug, before continuing, “with a name like War _saw_ …” he paused to smirk proudly, “we really should have _SAW_ that coming!”

Ladybug stared at him, slightly exasperated, her mouth opened to respond to his ill-timed wisecracking banter, before she seemed to decide against it. She glanced around the square, happy to see that the area had been successfully evacuated. In the distance she could she some barricades set up in a wide perimeter from the zone.

Still trying to catch breath, Ladybug was about to start to strategize their next line of attack with Chat Noir, until she heard the sound of thrashing wings.

Warsaw flew above their heads, flipping through the air and landing in a few meters in front of the heroes, armed with another neon sabre.

Ladybug and Chat Noir both shared a quick glance to each other, silently communicating their options. With a nod of their heads, the two split into a run, Chat Noir running left, Ladybug right, to take the akuma on from both sides.

Ladybug swung her yo-yo, wrapping it around Warsaw’s weapon and pulled. Chat Noir took a large leap into the air, raising his staff above his head, revolving it around before grabbing it securely in both hands to swing forward at the akuma.

Warsaw watched Chat’s incoming attack and struggled momentarily against Ladybug’s hold on his weapon. Gripping his sword with both hands he swung upwards to block Chat’s staff, effectively throwing Ladybug up into the air. Her yo-yo held on, causing her to flail ungracefully, crashing back onto the ground. She pulled back on her yo-yo releasing it from its wrap around the sword. The disc returned back to her hand as she scrambled back to standing.

In front of her, Chat and Warsaw engaged in combat. The akuma’s sword swung viciously in Chat’s direction, but her partner easily weaved in and out of the incoming attacks. The akuma seemed somewhat distracted in their battle as his eyes kept flicking back to the screen replaying the highlights of the game. Chat Noir, used this to his advantage, as they moved closer and closer to the screen. He elegantly flipped in and around Warsaw, landing some hits with his staff against his foe.

The akuma grunted as Chat’s staff connected against his shoulder, he stumbled back a bit. Chat Noir took the moment to further divert Warsaw’s attention. He glanced back at Ladybug with a subtle nod, before turning back to the akuma, gesturing to the screen and saying, “Hey, it was a good game, but I’ll be honest with ya there big guy…” he smirked before brashly jeering, “I was rooting for Portugal!”

Ladybug caught on quick to Chat Noir’s nod. She quickly recovered and raised up her yo-yo, throwing it to the sky, reciting the call, “Lucky Charm!” as Warsaw let out an angry wail.

Into her hands fell a red, black polka dotted fountain pen. Its weight was somewhat substantial in her hands and it was uncapped, leaving the red, sharp metallic nib exposed to the air.

“A pen!?” She thought aloud to herself, _how can a pen possibly help?_

Chat Noir continued to dance around Warsaw, who in his rage had become a little heavier in his stance, his swings more clumsy. Chat glanced over to Ladybug, seeing her mulling over the polka dotted object in her hand. Chat jumped as the akuma’s sword made a swipe at him, landing on Warsaw’s back. He flipped over the akuma, sending Warsaw tumbling over face first into the grass in the shadow of the large screen. As Chat landed, he turned to Ladybug a cocky smile on his lips, before pouting his lips, staring at the pen in her hands.

“I know the saying is ‘ _The pen is mightier than the sword_ ’, My Lady,” he quipped, as the akuma stood back up and swung his sword at him. Chat Noir deftly blocked the attack holding his staff against the sword the two stood at a standstill, both pushing forward. He grunted against the momentary bind, before the two seemed to jump back from each other like two magnets repelled. Chat Noir landed in a crouch, closer to Ladybug who was still puzzling over the pen in her hands. Turning to her with a quick wink, he continued his teasing banter, as if he weren’t currently engaged in sword-to-staff combat, “but I think you’ve taken it a bit too literally.”

Ladybug couldn't help but grin in reply as she stared across the area. Her eyes caught the angles of the surrounding lampposts, the continued flash of the screen, and the way Warsaw’s eyes behind his goggles kept flashing back to the game highlights.

She pulled her arm back, like a baseball pitcher readying a curveball. Her arm shot forward, throwing the charmed object. The pen clinked against a lamppost, bouncing across the square, ricocheting of the lights of the posts, before finally spinning towards the giant screen. The pen stabbed through the screen, causing the visual to blur in and out for a moment before flickering off. Large cracks grew from the incision, fissuring across the screen. Chunks and shards of the screen fell to the ground. Several fragments smashed against Warsaw, throwing him off balance.

The area of the battle darkened considerably from the pen’s strike, nearby lampposts dimmed from broken light bulbs and Chat Noir was able to use his night vision as an advantage against Warsaw, who seemed to struggle in the darkness.

Using his staff, Chat swooped his weapon across Warsaw’s ankles, taking him off his feet. As Warsaw crashed into the grass, and Chat flicked his sword safely away from the akuma’s hold. Raising his hand up over his head, Chat, called, “Cataclysm!”

His hand burned with dark energy and he bent over Warsaw, grabbing the bag that had been the source for most of their troubles tonight. In his cursed hold, the bag disintegrated into ash.

But no blackened butterfly rose from the destruction. Curious, Chat paused, his brows furrowed looking at the pile of ashes beneath him, before he was sent hurtling back, Warsaw kicking him backwards with both feet against his chest. Chat’s back slammed into the screen, further denting it, more shards of glass falling at his feet. He looked up to see his staff buried into the screen, beside Ladybug’s pen.

Ladybug landed by his side, Warsaw standing just in front of them, paused, unsure of what to do without his bag of weapons. He seemed to decide on a tactical retreat, his wings flapping erratically, drawing him upwards.

Without thinking of the pain throbbing through her shoulder, Ladybug stepped forwards, releasing her yo-yo. It again wrapped around Warsaw’s ankle and she pulled back, trying to keep him from getting away. She looked over his form, trying to discern where the akuma could be. From behind her, Chat yelled, “The belt-buckle!”

Ladybug’s eyes flashed to the large metallic Poland flag that held the Warsaw’s belt together. _Of course!_ She thought internally agreeing with Chat, as she struggled against the akuma’s pull, her feet lifted slightly off the grass.

She panicked, knowing she couldn’t take another trip dangling from the flying akuma. It was mixture of shock and relief when she felt familiar arms wrap around her, one arm securing around her waist another reaching out to assist her hold on the yo-yo string. She leaned back into Chat Noir’s chest and together with his added weight they pulled back on the akuma, bringing him back to the ground.

Determined, Warsaw seemed to find a second wind, battling against the heroes hold. He fought, wings thrashing violently as he rose a few centimeters.

Chat held tightly to the yo-yo string, his other hand reached back to grab his staff from the screen, but instead of finding his weapon his hand wrapped around Ladybug’s polka dotted pen. He yanked it out, hearing the unpleasant sound of cracking plastic. He looked down at the pen in his hand, black and red ink oozed out onto his glove. Looking up at Warsaw, we watched as the evening lights from the Eiffel Tower flashed against the lenses of his gold goggles.

Waiting for the right moment, Chat threw the pen. His aim rang true and the inky pen smashed against Warsaw’s goggles. Black and red ink bled out from the splintered pen, staining the akuma’s goggles and effectively blinding Warsaw.

Warsaw flew around awkwardly, veering left and right. Ladybug and Chat Noir together tugged back on the yo-yo with all their strength, bringing Warsaw crashing down into the grass. His wings quivered aimlessly for a moment before he slumped into the ground.

Chat rushed forward grabbing the belt buckle off Warsaw’s waist, while Ladybug withdrew her yo-yo from around the akuma’s ankle. She smiled at Chat triumphantly and he couldn’t help but return it with an admiring expression. His eyebrows softened, his head tilting to the side, as he took in Ladybug in all her glory, standing victorious with the lights of the Eiffel Tower glowing around her like a giant halo.

He let out a sigh, and she tilted her head in response, her eyebrows furrowing slightly. Chat blinked, looking at her outstretched hand. Realizing she was waiting for him to pass her the akumatized object. Chat gently shook his lovesick head, before tossing the belt buckle in her direction.

Easily catching the object, Ladybug dropped it into the grass before bringing down her foot upon the belt buckle. The metal under her foot crumbled, breaking into pieces and releasing a purple-accented dark butterfly into the air.

“No more evil doing for you, little akuma,” Ladybug chided, ready with her yo-yo. She drew her finger down the center of the polka dotted disk, splitting it into wings that opened up. Her yo-yo glowed bright and she twirled it around, shouting, “Time to de-evilize!”

She released her yo-yo out. The luminous pink-lit disc swung through the air, aimed right at the fluttering butterfly. Polka dotted wings closed around the cursed creature. And just like that the akuma was caught.

“Gotcha!” Ladybug confirmed, catching the yo-yo in her hand. She pushed her pointer finger atop her yo-yo’s disc, opening it up to reveal the butterfly, now purified, its wings a translucent white.

Ladybug waved farewell to the purified akuma on its departure skywards. With a smile she bid adieu, “Bye-bye little butterfly!”

She walked over to her Lucky Charm; the cracked pen lay in the grass in a puddle of red ink with droplets of black within it. She picked up the object and threw it victoriously into the air, yelling “Miraculous Ladybug!”

The pen shot upwards, as it rose, it shone bright, glowing against the night sky. It flashed, bursting like a crimson firework. A spiral of magical ladybugs emanated out, rushing out in streams to heal the damage of the battle.

A swirl jetted out towards the Eiffel Tower, erasing the saws from the pillars, removing the dents made from Ladybug’s body hitting against a beam, and clearing out the scratches left from Chat Noir’s baton during his fall.

Another surge of ladybugs stormed around the cracked and broken screen of the fan zone. In the magical creature’s wake the screen was returned to its original pristine condition. Chat’s staff was removed from its spot, buried within the screen and placed back in his hand. He smiled and returned it to its holster at his lower back.

Ladybug watched on as her powers worked their way through the city. A small stream of ladybugs wrapped around Chat Noir, removing the red jersey from his person. He smiled as the swarm enveloped him. “That tickles!” He laughed, his shoulders twitching and he flailed lightly as the loveliness of ladybugs continued on their curing path.

He stared off at the retreating stream of ladybugs as they flew off, before he returned his attention to the akumatized victim beside him. Warsaw lay on all fours in the grass. A purple mist overtook him, returning him back to his normal self.

The man stared around, clearly confused. Chat Noir knelt down beside him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. The man pushed his floppy brown hair out of his face and stared questioningly at Chat. He looked like a man in his early 20’s, a slight patchy scruff on his face. The akuma’s white and red ensemble was replaced by a red Poland jersey, not unlike the one Chat had been forced into. He wore a brown messenger bag, the strap stretching diagonally across his torso, a myriad of patches across the bag’s flap. The red and white belt buckle was the only reminder of the battle that had occurred.

“Where am I?” W-What happened?” the young man asked.

Ladybug watched as Chat gently talked to the man, reassuring and helping him up to his feet as policeman advanced into the scene, reporters quickly following behind them. Chat Noir shook the man’s hand before returning to Ladybug’s side. Their fists automatically rose, smiles adorning both their faces. “Bien joué!” they proclaimed together, pounding their fists together.

Ladybug’s earrings beeped as reporters rushed forward towards the heroes. Chat Noir, pushed back her hair in order to see how many dots – and time – she had left.

Two black spots remained on her earring. She had two minutes.

As if to accentuate the lack of time they had on their hands, Chat Noir’s ring beeped out shortly afterwards. He stared down at his fist. Three dots of his paw print remained; he had more time, just slightly.

“Chat Noir! Ladybug!” a chorus of voices called out to them. Streams of questions rolled out, trying to engage the heroes into an interview.

The two shared a quick look before Chat turned to the crowd, “Sorry fair citizens, but we best be on our way!”

A disappointed murmur echoed out in response, but Chat Noir and Ladybug paid them no mind. They had limited time. Turning away from the crowd they jump away quickly climbing the nearest tower and leaping their way across the rooftops of Paris.

Once they were a considerable distance away from the scene, Ladybug and Chat Noir paused for a moment, settling atop a random building.

Catching her breath, Ladybug spoke, “Good thinking with the pen, Chat.”

Chat smiled, “Thank you, My Lady – “

He was interrupted from adding a flirtatious quip, by the beeping of her earrings. Her hand flew up to her ears. She had less than a minute.

And yet, she stood, still. Usually she would be off on her way home or in a hiding spot where she could transform unseen. She looked thoughtful, her mind mulling over something, an arm wrapped around her waist, nervously holding her other arm. She fidgeted from foot to foot.

Her stance went unnoticed by Chat, who was more concerned about giving her space to de-transform. Readying his staff to leap across Paris, Chat turned to Ladybug, a quick salute, bidding goodbye, “I’ll see you tomorrow. Sleep well.”

He turned ready to jump off, his foot perched on the edge of the building.

A sudden shout from behind him startled him.

“Chat! Wait!”

The hold of Ladybug’s hand on his arm was the only thing keeping him from falling of the building, helping him regain his balance. Vaguely he caught another tone of warning from his ring.

“Ladyb – “ a concerned Chat Noir met her eyes before he was interrupted by the determined – almost angry look on her face.

Undeterred, Ladybug stepped forward, a blush apparent on her face as she looked up at Chat. She leaned in, standing on her tiptoes.

In a swift move, Chat watched, stunned. Her eyes closed and his widened impossibly so. Until finally, he felt the soft, gentle caress of her lips on his cheek.

She stepped back with a small smile on those same lips.

“Uh, ummm, wha – ?” Chat sputtered, his mouth dry. He cleared his throat, his mind a total daze and breathed out, “Ladybug?”

She shrugged slightly, the smile on her face growing, “You won the bet remember?”

And with that she turned running towards the opposite side of the roof, she turned before reaching the edge of the building. “Goodnight Chat,” she whispered lightly with a small wave.

She jumped up, skillfully tucking into a backflip as she leaped down into a neighbouring alleyway. Chat caught a faint burst of pink light flash from where she disappeared.

He sighed.

It wasn’t until his ring gave another warning appeal that Chat snapped out of his daze. He made a mad dash across the rooftops, not even tempting the thought of peeking to see Ladybug’s civilian identity. He rushed, flipping in a dazzling display of parkour over the rooftops searching for a secluded spot in which to de-transform.

As he ran across the Paris night his hand rose to his cheek, the phantom feeling of Ladybug’s lips tingling against his skin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! This is my first time writing some actual action sequences, so please leave any feedback so I can improve for later chapters!!
> 
> Sorry for the wait! I'm trying to keep up with both fics at the moment, so I was determined to finish off this chapter before going but to my volleyball au, and this chapter just kept getting longer and longer! Plus i was up visiting my sister, niece, and new niece!!! now I'm back home and job hunting so updates may be a little sporadic, but I'll try my best to keep up!

**Author's Note:**

> I'm going to try to write for each game left in the tournament... I'm already falling behind, so bear with me here! 
> 
> And let me know who you're cheering for in the comments!
> 
> UPDATE!! 
> 
> You may have noticed I haven't updated in ages! Please know, I'm still planning on continuing this story! Life just got in my way, but I still plan on finishing this eventually!


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